National Network for Equitable Library Service

Timely, important, mischievous, powerful: in a word, exceptional Seventy-seven poems intended as a eulogy for what we have squandered, a reprimand for all we have allowed, a suggestion for what might still be salvaged, a poetic quarrel with our intolerant and greedy selves, a reflection on mortality and longing, as well as a long-running conversation with the mythological currents that flow throughout North America.

(Re)Generation contains selected poetry by Anishinaabe writer Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm exploring a range of issues: from violence against Indigenous women and lands to Indigenous erotica and the joyous intimate encounters between bodies. From her earliest work in my heart is a stray bullet and Bloodriver Woman, through her spoken word works standing ground and A Constellation of Bones, Akiwenzie-Damm's poetry demonstrates how to represent Indigenous peoples in their full complexity, especially as it pertains to bodily pleasure, love, and loss.

Archibald Lampman was born on November 17th, 1861 at Morpeth, Ontario in Canada. Perhaps the finest Canadian poet of his time, he is classed as a Confederation Poet. A lover of camping, it inspired much of his verse and helped him to become known as 'The Canadian Keats'. Most of his poems are about the countryside and the natural world. He wrote in excess of 300 poems and all reveal and revel in his observations of life and landscape. His health deteriorated, due in part to the death of his second son and his earlier problems caused by rheumatic fever.

A captivating search through one family's history, All Wrong Horses on Fire that Go Away in the Rain is a stunning examination of intergenerational trauma and its effect on Indigenous voices. Aftershocks and fragmented memories ricochet through this collection, bringing with them strength, intensity and uninhibited beauty. Sarain Frank Soonias makes his poetic debut with a splash that ripples far outside his own work, and marks the entrance of a new, important voice in contemporary poetry.

The interplay between photography, nature and poetic form is on full display in Wendy McGrath's and Danny Miles' collaborative new work The Beauty of Vultures. This innovative collection takes readers into the surprisingly chatty world of birds, whose avian artistry and poignant plumage mimics the formally and structurally inventive tones found in each poem. The language wings its way between funny and serious, poignant and morbid, while always drawing parallels between the poet's thoughts and the camera's eye.

My Works, Ye Mighty expands upon the conceptual literature of Christian Bök, particularly his ongoing project, The Xenotext. Based on work conducted during his tenure as Writer-in-Residence at Athabasca University, this essay addresses the concept of "scale" in poetry, meditating on it with an abundance of imagery. The essay appears alongside an epic poem specially written by Bök for this publication.

The Dry Valley encapsulates one woman's relationship with herself, her alcoholic spouse, and the world, in three different Saskatchewan landscapes. The poems offer a fascinating interplay between mindful explorations of self and immersions in the challenging complexities of interpersonal relationships, social issues, and meaningful engagement with the environment. The quiet, meditative quality of the longer lyrics rubs up against the edgier narrative poems, contributing a wonderful tension to the manuscript.

The Trouble With Everything is a highly eclectic mix of Choyce's published poetry and Barron's studio wizardry that will help to shake off the bad vibes of the COVID-19 year and inspire listeners with some heartfelt words.

In Living in the Tall Grass: Poems of Reconciliation audiobook, Chief Stacey Laforme performs his poems that tell a history of his people and let people see through the eyes of Indigenous people. In it, he hits hard on matters of residential schools, the environment, suicide among Indigenous youth, domestic abuse, and so on, but also writes poems of love and hope.

Alternator blends catastrophe and consciousness, modern living and past transgressions, off-kilter imagery and the "hidden room" of the unsayable to construct a polyphonic triumph. Chris Banks threads fire through the eye of his imagination, and the product is these poems born of whole cloth: surrealist meditations, modern ghazals, and powerful narrative sonnets that are both alive and burning.