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The Literary Network's=20

Top Ten Canadian Poetry = Books=20
for Summer 2000=20

Recommended by an independent  panel of poets = and=20 poetry editors from across Canada

1

A Woman=20 Alone on the Atikokan Highway
by Jeanette=20 Lynes,
Wolsak and Wynn, 1999, 86pp, $14.95, = ISBN=20 0-919897-68-1

Hilarious and = moving poems=20 about rural childhood and femininity, about love and the peripatetic = woman, and=20 the only book I've ever read to address both Tommy Hunter and Lawrence = Welk as=20 cultural phenomena. Highly recommended, especially the great "Poem for = the=20 Unknown Trucker I tailgated Up the Atikokan Highway".=20

2=20

What the=20 Living Won't Let Go by Lorna Crozier, =
McClelland = & Stewart,=20 1999, 96pp, $14.99, ISBN 0-7710-2481-9

A book about = family,=20 relationships and insights. Ms. Crozier's elegant style and = observatiions invite=20 the reader to return to these poems. A lasting memory and satisfying = read.=20 Crozier's narrative weaves a bold yet subtle tapestry of life maturely = lived,=20 irony, and nuance which echoes the impeccable voice of Bronwen Wallace. = This is=20 people's poetry at its best.

3=20

The Island=20 in Winter by Terrance=20 Young,
Signal Editions, 1999, 107pp,  = $12.00, ISBN=20 1-55065-122-6

Nominated for the = Governor=20 General's Award, this is well crafted stuff in the people's tradition by = one of=20 those few poets who wait until they are mature enough to have something = to=20 say.  First book, but Young writes like a prince among poets. The = endings=20 of his poems triple their strength, shot of rye after sip of lager. = You'll get=20 drunk on his words. Boilermaker verse.

4=20

Holding=20 Ground by Tanis=20 MacDonald,
Seraphim Editions, 2000, 92pp,  = $10.95, ISBN=20 0-96996339-6-3

Tanis MacDonald's = first full=20 collection marks an auspicious debut by a poet who arrives with maturity = and a=20 dazzling range of poetic skills. Holding Ground introduces = an=20 important new voice in Canadian poetry. There is a genuine honesty and = poetic=20 confidence in MacDonald's work. She is at ease in being intimate or = whimsical,=20 or in sharing any other emotion with her seamless but considerable=20 craft.=20

5=20

Carousel by George=20 Whipple,
Ekstasis Editions, 1999, 80pp, $12.95, = ISBN=20 1-896860-67-2

This book is a gem = by one of=20 Canada's least known but, in my view, major poets. His poetry is marked = by=20 unbelievable attention to detail. This old fellow is so shy that he has = not=20 garnered the praise that he deserves on the national poetry = stage.

6=20

Holding=20 the Dark by Melanie=20 Cameron,
The Muses' Company, 1999, 108pp, $12.95, = ISBN=20 1-896239-47-1

Smart and subtle = poetry rooted=20 in the damaged or recovering body with a long sensual line and a welcome = social=20 conscience. The six sections act as six long poems; the poet is skillful = at=20 pulling the reader into a world of dark water and hot = climates.

7=20

Kurgan=20 by Don Coles, =
The = Porcupine's Quill,=20 2000, 84pp, $12.95, ISBN 0-89984-211-6

Don Coles' last = collection won=20 the GG in 1993. What has he been doing since? Putting his voice to the = most=20 perfectly paced and quietly eloquent poems that anyone in this country = is=20 capable of writing.=20

8=20

Tales for=20 an Urban Sky by Alice Major, =
Broken Jaw = Press, 1999,=20 96pp, $13.95, ISBN 1-896647-11-1

Try this for a = change of pace.=20 Major's myths and poems come alive through wit, humour and insight into = the=20 contemporary scene, and the stars are never far away.=20

9=20

Coming=20 Home From Home by Bruce = Hunter,=20
Thistledown=20 Press, 2000, 78pp, $12.95, ISBN = 1-894345-11-8

Coming Home = From=20 Home is Bruce Hunter's first collection of poetry in fourteen = years, and=20 he has not lost the edge or energy seen in his earlier work. Here is = pure=20 people's poetry by a poet who writes with honesty and passion about = himself and=20 his family history.

10=20

Slow=20 Moving Target by Sue=20 Wheeler,
Brick Books, 2000, 83pp, $14.00, ISBN=20 1-894078-08-X

This second collection, though a little uneven, = does not=20 disappoint. Wonderful imagery and use of language give a uniqueness to = poems=20 drawn from family history, personal experience and travel to places as = far apart=20 as the West Coast and Nepal. =20

=

The Literary Network Poetry=20 Panel

Jim Aldred has published = his poetry=20 in several chapbooks, broadsheets and anthologies, including Lenny = Breau,=20 Small Press Lynx, Reflections Returned and Unfinished=20 Canvas,:A Sketch of Tom Thomson.. Working in the = printing=20 business for thirty years, he founded Printer's Devil Press in = 1982. to=20 consolidate his publishing efforts. He is a Co-founder and Associate = Editor of=20 People's Poetry Letter, and was its original Art Director = for two=20 years. He has served as judge for the Milton Acorn = People's=20 Poetry Award.  He also served on the Executive of The = Canadian=20 Poetry Association, assisting with its publication Poemata=20 (1987-91).

Marion = Beck- Born and educated in England now resides in\ Regina, = Saskatchewan. She=20 has four chapbooks of poetry: Notebook of an Immigrant, = 1983.=20 Counting the Threads 1985. Thin Grafts 1986. = Poems for Amazons 1995 (Moonprint Press) Her poems = have=20 appeared in various literary magazines, been broadcast on CBC's = Ambiance=20 and included in anthologies including Lodestone 1993 and=20 Waiting for You to Speak 1999. She was winner of the = Short=20 Grain Prose Poem Contest 1991 and has been twice winner in the = People's=20 Poetry Letter Political Poem Contest. Her involvement with the Arts=20 Community has included working for the Saskatchewan Writers Guild=20 1980-81, serving in the City of Regina Arts Commission = 1986-89, and=20 Arts Convener both for the local and national Council of Women. = She has=20 taught senior's creative writing classes and was poetry editor for = Green's=20 Magazine 1980-86.=20

Barry = Butson is the 1998/99 winner of the Milton Acorn People's Poetry = Award=20 for his collection, East End Poems (Moonstone Press, = 1998).=20 The book is currently in its second printing. He has published widely in = Canada=20 and internationally.

Penny L. Ferguson's poems, short = stories,=20 articles and drawings have been accepted/published by various journals = and=20 anthologies in Canada such as The Antigonish Review, The = Pottersfield=20 Portfolio, Canadian
Author, Minus=20 Tides, The Nashwaak Review, Shout and Speak Out Loud, In = the=20 Open, etc.; in the US by Tulane Review, Convolvulus, = Elemental=20 Surprises, etc.; and in England by Poetechniciens, = etc. In=20 March of 1997 her first book of poetry, Runaway Suite: Two = Voices,=20 was published by Hidden Brook Press of Toronto, ON. 1990-1993 she = served=20 as Writer-in-Residence at the Nova Scotia Teachers College. She = is a=20 co-founder and editor of The Amethyst Review and a member = of the=20 Writer's Council of the Writer's Federation of Nova Scotia. = Her=20 work was short-listed for both the Sandburg-Livesay (1998 & = 1999) and=20 the Acorn-Rukeyser (1998) Awards. She is the current = vice-president of=20 the Canadian Poetry Association. She has participated in numerous = readings and given writing workshops in writing groups, schools  = and=20 colleges in Canada (NS, NB & ON) and England.=20

Erina = Harrisis a writer of poetry and prose, living in Kitchener, = Ontario.  Her=20 work has appeared in numerous Canadian journals and mags including = The=20 Fiddlehead, NeWest Review, Grain, THIS Magazine, CV2, Other Voices, Ink = Mag,=20 NAFM... In Fall 1998 she attended the Sage Hill Poetry = Colloquium=20 with instructor Daphne Marlatt.  She was the winner of the THIS = Magazine=20 =93Great Literary Hunt=94 Poetry Prize for 1998 and winner of the = =93People=92s Poetry=20 Contest=94 late 1998.  In 1997 she published a chapbook = =93the 82 short=20 poems of eliza=94 (CIRCUS PRESS, KITCHENER). She is = currently at=20 work on completing several long works including poems of the women of = the circus=20 and poems of grief.  She will be reading/performing at the = Hillside=20 Festival in Guelph, Summer 1999.=20

I.B. (Bunny) = Iskov was born in Winnipeg and moved to Toronto when she was five = years=20 old.  She is the Poetry Editor for the Outreach Connection=20 and the Poetry Reviews Editor for the People's Poetry=20 Letter.  She has given birth to three chapbooks and two=20 children.  She lives in Thornhill with her husband=20 Larry.=20

Penn = Kemp, sound poet and workshop leader, has performed in arts = festivals around=20 the world. Her hour-long performance,  WHEN THE HEART = PARTS,=20 will be performed in November at the University of Guelph.  = Courtesy the=20 Canada Council, Penn is currently making a CD-ROM of her = performance=20 pieces: ON OUR OWN SPOKE.
http://www.poets.ca/linktext/poems/poems11.htm#kemp<http://www.puc.ca/playwrights/playwrights.html>= =20

Alice Major = recently published her second collection of poetry, = Lattice of the=20 years (Bayeux Arts, Calgary). Two more collections will = be=20 released soon: =93Tales for an Urban Sky,=94 which won the = inaugural=20 Poet=92s Corner award sponsored by Broken Jaw Press; and = =93Some=20 Bones and a Story,=94 which will be published next year by = St. Thomas=20 Press of Toronto. She is currently vice-president of the League = of=20 Canadian Poets, and also chair of the Edmonton Arts Council. She Is = a past=20 president of theWriters Guild of Alberta, and also the author of = an=20 award-winning novel for young adults.=20

Linda = Martin was born in South Wales and immigrated to Canada in = 1965.  After=20 living in Alberta for six years, I finally settled in Nanaimo, British = Columbia=20 where I raised five children.I have always been interested in poetry, = writing my=20 first poem when I was eight years old.  Since then I=92ve been an = avid =20 poetry reader, starting to write my own again twelve years ago when I = decided to=20 go back to University to finish my B.A. in English and Creative = Writing. =20 Some of my poetry teachers have been Robin Skelton, Robert Kroetsch and = Ron=20 Smith.  I also attained an M.A. in English from University of = Victoria in=20 1997.   My poetry has appeared in Portal, = Tremor, and=20 People=92s Poetry Letter, winning the political poem = contest,=20 Spring, 1998. I believe poetry can be a powerful device for clarifying = issues=20 and improving our world.  To quote Robert Frost, poetry is =93a = momentary=20 stay against confusion.=94=20

Dennis Colin = Reid has published five books including the 1999, Love And = Other Things=20 That Hurt (poetry), work translated into Spanish in Mexico, = recent=20 awards: second place in the Bliss Carmen Award, winner = People's Poetry=20 Poem prize (fall 1998) and nomination for 1999 National = Magazine=20 Awards. Past president of the Federation of BC Writers, past = BC rep=20 for the League of Canadian Poets.=20

Glen Sorestad = is a Saskatoon writer with ten books of poetry, the = latest =20 being ICONS OF FLESH (Ekstasis = Editions,=20 1998). He lives in Saskatoon.

Home.The Literary = Network=20 News. The = Literary=20 Network's Top Ten Canadian Poetry Books.=20
People's Poetry. = People's Poetry = Letter.=20 People's = Poetry Contests=20 and Awards.
Literary = Pages.=20 Literary=20 Links.