Included in this unparalleled collection are Christian Bok, AnneCarson, and Erin Moure, whose experiments with genre have landed theminternational acclaim; Lisa Robertson and Ken Babstock, whoseexplorations of the pastoral and the sonnet, respectively, reach as farback into poetry s history as they do into the future of those forms;George Elliot Clarke, whose striking lyrics have been adapted foropera; and Tim Lilburn, Don McKay, and Jan Zwicky, who have reinventedsome of poetry s primordial components from the wilder fringes of theCanadian landscape.

Along with Nicole Brossard, Dionne Brand, Christopher Dewdney, SusanGoyette, Dennis Lee, Daphne Marlatt, Michael Ondaantje, Fred Wah, andothers, these poets have been carefully chosen to convey theexhilarating commotion and diversity of Canadian verse. For nativereaders, Open Field represents a handy selection of theircountry s most vibrant writers, both established and emergent; forreaders in the United States and elsewhere, it is the perfectintroduction to the skill and daring ubiquitous in Canadian poetrytoday.