New Oxford Book of Canadian Verse in English Pb (PBK) [Paperback]

Margaret Atwood (Author)

Book Description

Series: PBK | Publication Date: January 1985

An impressive selection of some of the best work of Canadian poets and Atwood's brilliant introductory survey of Canadian poetry make this an excellent textbook choice.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The Fights by Milton Acorn
I've Tasted My Blood by Milton Acorn
Knowing I Live In A Dark Age Before History by Milton Acorn
On Saint-urban Street by Milton Acorn
You Growing by Milton Acorn
Cold Colloquy by Patrick Anderson
Houses Burning: Quebec by Patrick Anderson
Death Of A Young Son By Drowning by Margaret Atwood
Marrying The Hangman by Margaret Atwood
Notes Towards A Poem That Can Never Be Written by Margaret Atwood
November by Margaret Atwood
There Is Only One Of Everything by Margaret Atwood
Variation On The Word Sleep by Margaret Atwood
You Begin by Margaret Atwood
Civility A Bogey, Or, Two Centuries Of Canadian Cities by Margaret Avison
The Dumbfounding by Margaret Avison
In A Season Of Unemployment by Margaret Avison
Meeting Together Of Poles And Latitudes (in Prospect) by Margaret Avison
A Nameless One by Margaret Avison
New Year's Poem by Margaret Avison
Snow by Margaret Avison
The Swimmer's Moment by Margaret Avison
Thaw by Margaret Avison
Unspeakable by Margaret Avison
Carrier Indians by Ken Belford
Turn (a Poem In 4 Parts) by Ken Belford
Anglosaxon Street by Earl (earle) Birney
The Bear On The Delhi Road by Earl (earle) Birney
Bushed by Earl (earle) Birney
Can. Lit. by Earl (earle) Birney
David by Earl (earle) Birney
My Love Is Young by Earl (earle) Birney
Slug In Woods by Earl (earle) Birney
Christ I Wudint Know Normal If Is Saw It When by Bill Bissett
Dont Worry Yr Hair by Bill Bissett
Th Wundrfulness Uv Th Mountee Our Secret Police by Bill Bissett
Fossil by E. D. Blodgett
Snails by E. D. Blodgett
Flowers by Ruth Elizabeth Borson
Flowers by Ruth Elizabeth Borson
Gray Glove by Ruth Elizabeth Borson
Jacaranda by Ruth Elizabeth Borson
Talk by Ruth Elizabeth Borson
Dobbin; For Mike Ondaatje by George Bowering
The Envies by George Bowering
Grandfather by George Bowering
The House by George Bowering
In The Forest by George Bowering
Summer Solstice, Sels. by George Bowering
Russian Asylum by Marilyn Ruthe Bowering
Seeing Oloalok by Marilyn Ruthe Bowering
Wishing Africa by Marilyn Ruthe Bowering
Anti-love Poems by Elizabeth Brewster
Great-aunt Rebecca by Elizabeth Brewster
If I Could Walk Out Into The Cold Country by Elizabeth Brewster
Deuteronomy by Robert Bringhurst
Notes To The Reader: 1. Have A Good Time by Robert Bringhurst
Notes To The Reader: 2. Get Laid by Robert Bringhurst
Notes To The Reader: 3. Stand Back by Robert Bringhurst
These Poems, She Said by Robert Bringhurst
How One Winter Came In The Lake Region by William Wilfred Campbell
Indian Summer by William Wilfred Campbell
Morning On The Shore by William Wilfred Campbell
The Winter Lakes by William Wilfred Campbell
Low Tide On Grand-pre by Bliss Carman
Morning In The Hills by Bliss Carman
Veni Creator by Bliss Carman
Heirloom by Leonard Cohen
I Have Not Lingered In European Monasteries by Leonard Cohen
The Killers That Run by Leonard Cohen
A Kite Is A Victim by Leonard Cohen
You Have The Lovers by Leonard Cohen
Day Twenty-three by Victor Coleman
How The Death Of A City Is Never More Than The Sum ... by Victor Coleman
Natalya Nikolayevna Goncharov by Don Coles
Photograph In A Stockholm Newspaper For March 13, 1910 by Don Coles
A Battle by Isabella Valancy Crawford
The Camp Of Souls by Isabella Valancy Crawford
The Dark Stag by Isabella Valancy Crawford
Said The Canoe by Isabella Valancy Crawford
The Piano by Frank Davey
She'd Say by Frank Davey
Out Of Control: The Quarry by Christopher Dewdney
This In One Of Two Worlds - The One Diurnal Men Know by Christopher Dewdney
Errore by Pier Giorgio Di Cicco
Flying Deeper Into The Century by Pier Giorgio Di Cicco
The Head Is A Paltry Matter by Pier Giorgio Di Cicco
Male Rage Poem by Pier Giorgio Di Cicco
The Moon And The Salt Flats by Mary Di Michele
Deadsong; For Ion Rusu by Don Domanski
Three Songs From The Temple by Don Domanski
The Canadian Prairies View Of Literature by David Donnell
Potatoes by David Donnell
Stepfathers by David Donnell
The Log Jam by William Henry Drummond
Coming Suddenly To The Sea by Louis Dudek
The Dead by Louis Dudek
Garcia Lorca by Louis Dudek
Injured Maple by Ronald Everson
One-night Expensive Hotel by Ronald Everson
Pauper Woodland by Ronald Everson
Stranded In My Ontario by Ronald Everson
The Hand by Brian Fawcett
Elijah Speaking by Doug Fetherling
Explorers As Seen By The Natives by Doug Fetherling
Last Visit by Robert Finch
Silvethorn Bush by Robert Finch
Earthquake by Robert Arthur Douglas Ford
Sakhara by Robert Arthur Douglas Ford
Twenty Below by Robert Arthur Douglas Ford
It Is Her Cousin's Death That by Gail Fox
Portrait by Gail Fox
She Lay Wrapped In The by Gail Fox
The Inheritors by Gary Geddes
Transubstantiation by Gary Geddes
The Entailed Farm by John Glassco
Quebec Farmhouse by John Glassco
I Don't Have The Energy For Another Day by Artie Gold
Life by Artie Gold
Sex At Thirty-one by Artie Gold
The Lonely Settler by Oliver, The Younger Goldsmith
A Cocker Of Snooks by Phyllis Gottlieb
Death's Head by Phyllis Gottlieb
Late Gothic by Phyllis Gottlieb
This One's On Me by Phyllis Gottlieb
Three-handed Fugue by Phyllis Gottlieb
Kissing Natalia by Eldon Grier
Mountain Town - Mexico by Eldon Grier
My Winter Past by Eldon Grier
Changeling: 8 by Kristjana Gunnars
Wakepick 1 by Kristjana Gunnars
Columbus Reaches Juana, 1492 by Ralph Gustafson
Mothy Monologue by Ralph Gustafson
Wednesday At North Hatley by Ralph Gustafson
The Pleasant Life In Newfoundland by Robert Hayman
The Dead by Charles Heavysege
Considerations by David Helwig
A Dead Weasel by David Helwig
Drunken Poem by David Helwig
For Edward Hicks by David Helwig
Words From Hell (for Brian Ensor) by David Helwig
A Bewilderment At The Entrance Of The Fat Boy Into Eden: 1 by Daryl Hine
A Bewilderment At The Entrance Of The Fat Boy Into Eden: 2 by Daryl Hine
A Bewilderment At The Entrance Of The Fat Boy Into Eden: 3 by Daryl Hine
A Bewilderment At The Entrance Of The Fat Boy Into Eden: 4 by Daryl Hine
Fabulary Satire 4 by Daryl Hine
Point Grey by Daryl Hine
Paper Matches by Paulette Jiles
Time To Myself by Paulette Jiles
The Tin Woodsman by Paulette Jiles
Windigo by Paulette Jiles
Marshlands by Emily Pauline Johnson
Ojistoh by Emily Pauline Johnson
Bliss by George Johnston
Cathleen Sweeping by George Johnston
Veterans by George Johnston
War On The Periphery by George Johnston
Portrait: The Freedom Fighter by George Jonas
Temporal by George Jonas
For Spring by Douglas Gordon Jones
From Sex, This Sea, We Have Emerged by Douglas Gordon Jones
On A Picture Of Your House by Douglas Gordon Jones
The River: North Of Guelph by Douglas Gordon Jones
These Trees Are No Forest Of Mourners by Douglas Gordon Jones
Foreign Aid by Lionel Kearns
The Break-up by Abraham Moses Klein
Heirloom by Abraham Moses Klein
Indian Reservation: Caughnawaga by Abraham Moses Klein
Portrait Of The Poet As Landscape by Abraham Moses Klein
Boy Remembers In The Field by Raymond Knister
February's Forgotten Mitts by Raymond Knister
Nell by Raymond Knister
Stone Hammer Poem by Robert Kroetsch
The City Of The End Of Things by Archibald Lampman
Heat by Archibald Lampman
In November by Archibald Lampman
A Thunderstorm by Archibald Lampman
To A Millionaire by Archibald Lampman
Winter Evening by Archibald Lampman
At The Edge Of The Jungle by Patrick Lane
If by Patrick Lane
The Measure; For P.k. Page by Patrick Lane
Passing Into Storm by Patrick Lane
Stigmata; For Irving Layton by Patrick Lane
Butterfly On Rock by Irving Layton
The Cold Green Element by Irving Layton
The Fertile Muck by Irving Layton
For Mao Tse-tung: A Meditation On Flies And Kings by Irving Layton
For Musia's Grandchildren by Irving Layton
From Colony To Nation by Irving Layton
Grand Finale by Irving Layton
The Improved Binoculars by Irving Layton
A Tall Man Executes A Jig by Irving Layton
Civil Elegies: 1 by Dennis Lee
The Gods by Dennis Lee
A Country Without A Mythology by Douglas Lepan
Coureurs De Bois by Douglas Lepan
The Net And The Sword by Douglas Lepan
By Stubborn Stars: Sonnet 1 by Kenneth Leslie
Halibut Cover Harvest by Kenneth Leslie
Bushed by Charles Lillard
Lobo by Charles Lillard
The Children's Letters by Dorothy Livesay
Green Rain by Dorothy Livesay
Spain by Dorothy Livesay
The Uninvited by Dorothy Livesay
Waiting In The Dark by Dorothy Livesay
Without Benefit Of Tape by Dorothy Livesay
Christ Walks In This Infernal District Too by Malcolm Lowry
The Lighthouse Invites The Storm And Lights It' by Malcolm Lowry
Under The Volcano, Sels. by Malcolm Lowry
Xochitepec by Malcolm Lowry
Last Letter To Pablo by Pat Lowther
A Stone Diary by Pat Lowther
A Breakfast For Barbarians by Gwendolyn Macewen
The Discovery by Gwendolyn Macewen
Manxini: Escape Artist by Gwendolyn Macewen
There Is No Place To Hide by Gwendolyn Macewen
The Thing Is Violent by Gwendolyn Macewen
The Void by Gwendolyn Macewen
Ark Anatomical by Jay Macpherson
Ark Apprehensive by Jay Macpherson
Ark Articulate by Jay Macpherson
Ark Artifact by Jay Macpherson
Ark Astonished by Jay Macpherson
Ark Overwhelmed by Jay Macpherson
Ark Parting by Jay Macpherson
Ark To Noah by Jay Macpherson
The Beauty Of Job's Daughters by Jay Macpherson
The Fisherman by Jay Macpherson
A Lost Soul by Jay Macpherson
They Return by Jay Macpherson
Song by Charles Mair
Tecumseh, Sels. by Charles Mair
Tecumseh, Sels. by Charles Mair
Envoi by Eli W. Mandel
From The North Saskatchewan by Eli W. Mandel
Houdini by Eli W. Mandel
The Madwoman Of The Plaza De Mayo by Eli W. Mandel
On The 25th Anniversary Of The Liberation Of Auschwitz ... by Eli W. Mandel
Femina by Daphne Marlatt
Imagine: A Town by Daphne Marlatt
As You Come In by Anne Marriott
Beaver Pond by Anne Marriott
Prairie Graveyard by Anne Marriott
Interior Monologue #666 by Tom Marshall
Politics by Tom Marshall
Summer by Tom Marshall
In The Dome Car Of The 'canadian' by Sid Marty
Before Passover by Seymour Mayne
Roots by Seymour Mayne
In Flanders Fields by John Mccrae
A Form Of Passion by David Mcfadden
House Plants by David Mcfadden
Lennox Island by David Mcfadden
A Barbed Wure Fence Meditates Upon The Goldfinch by Don Mckay
I Scream You Scream by Don Mckay
March Snow by Don Mckay
Bushed by Barry Mckinnon
The North by Barry Mckinnon
The Arrival by Alexander Mclachlan
Song by Alexander Mclachlan
We Live In A Rickety House by Alexander Mclachlan
The Lizard by Rona Murray
The Judas Goat by Susan Musgrave
Returning To The Town Where We Used To Live by Susan Musgrave
America by John Newlove
The Pride by John Newlove
Samuel Hearne In Wintertime by John Newlove
What Do You Want? by John Newlove
Gorg, A Detective Story by B. P. Nichol
Two Words: A Wedding by B. P. Nichol
The Bull Moose by Alden A. Nowlan
Daisies by Alden A. Nowlan
For Jean Vincent D'annadie, Baron St.-castin by Alden A. Nowlan
In The Operating Room by Alden A. Nowlan
Suppose This Moment Some Stupendous Question by Alden A. Nowlan
Winter In Lower Canada by Standish Hayes O'grady
Breaking Green by Michael Ondaatje
Burning Hills by Michael Ondaatje
The Cinnamon Peeler by Michael Ondaatje
Letters & Other Worlds by Michael Ondaatje
Walking To Bellrock by Michael Ondaatje
After Rain by Patricia Kathleen Page
Evening Dance Of The Grey Flies by Patricia Kathleen Page
The Permanent Tourists by Patricia Kathleen Page
Photos Of A Salt Mine by Patricia Kathleen Page
The Snowman by Patricia Kathleen Page
Stories Of Snow by Patricia Kathleen Page
T-bar by Patricia Kathleen Page
Pere Lalemant by Marjorie L. C. Pickthall
Quiet by Marjorie L. C. Pickthall
Two Souls; A Letter From Pere Jogues by Marjorie L. C. Pickthall
Brebeuf And His Brethren: 7 by Edwin John Pratt
Dynamite On The North Shore by Edwin John Pratt
The Final Moments by Edwin John Pratt
The Pre-cambrian Shield, Sels. by Edwin John Pratt
The Shark by Edwin John Pratt
Silences by Edwin John Pratt
The Truant by Edwin John Pratt
Alive Or Not by Alfred Wellington Purdy
The Cariboo Horses by Alfred Wellington Purdy
The Country North Of Belleville by Alfred Wellington Purdy
The Dead Poet by Alfred Wellington Purdy
Night Song For A Woman by Alfred Wellington Purdy
Poem by Alfred Wellington Purdy
Remains Of An Indian Village by Alfred Wellington Purdy
Spinning by Alfred Wellington Purdy
Wilderness Gothic by Alfred Wellington Purdy
Granny Crack by James Reaney
The Lost Child by James Reaney
The School Globe by James Reaney
The Upper Canadian by James Reaney
The Herring Weir by Charles George Douglas Roberts
The Mowing by Charles George Douglas Roberts
The Pea-fields by Charles George Douglas Roberts
The Potato Harvest by Charles George Douglas Roberts
The Skater by Charles George Douglas Roberts
Tantramar Revisited by Charles George Douglas Roberts
Cold by Dorothy Roberts
Dazzle by Dorothy Roberts
The Blue Heron by Theodore Goodridge Roberts
The Ant Trap by Joe Rosenblatt
Cat by Joe Rosenblatt
Fish by Joe Rosenblatt
Ichthycide by Joe Rosenblatt
It's In The Egg; In The Little Round Egg by Joe Rosenblatt
Of Dandelions & Tourists by Joe Rosenblatt
The Diver by W. W. Eustace Ross
If Ice by W. W. Eustace Ross
The Snake Trying by W. W. Eustace Ross
Sonnets Written In The Orillia Woods: 7 by Charles Sangster
The Thousand Islands by Charles Sangster
At Gull Lake: August, 1810 by Duncan Campbell Scott
At The Cedars by Duncan Campbell Scott
En Route by Duncan Campbell Scott
The Forsaken by Duncan Campbell Scott
On The Way To The Mission by Duncan Campbell Scott
Brebeuf And His Brethren by Francis Reginald Scott
The Canadian Authors Meet by Francis Reginald Scott
Lakeshore by Francis Reginald Scott
Laurentian Shield by Francis Reginald Scott
Night Club by Francis Reginald Scott
W.l.m.k. by Francis Reginald Scott
The Unnamed Lake by Frederick George Scott
The Cremation Of Sam Mcgee by Robert William Service
Eagle by Robin Skelton
Lakeside Incident; For Herbert Siebner by Robin Skelton
Wart Hog by Robin Skelton
The Common Man by Arthur James Marshall Smith
The Dead by Arthur James Marshall Smith
The Lonely Land by Arthur James Marshall Smith
Resurrection Of Aro by Arthur James Marshall Smith
Flight Of The Roller-coaster by Raymond Souster
The Hunter by Raymond Souster
Lagoons, Hanlan's Point by Raymond Souster
The Man Who Finds That His Son Has Become A Thief by Raymond Souster
On The Rouge by Raymond Souster
The Naming Of The Beasts by Francis Sparshott
Reply To The Committed Intellectual by Francis Sparshott
Three Seasons by Francis Sparshott
To Cordelia by Joseph Stansbury
Chinese Camp, Kamloops (circa 1883) by Andrew Suknaski
The Snake by Andrew Suknaski
Angels by Anne Szumigalski
A Midwife's Story: Two by Anne Szumigalski
Visitors' Parking by Anne Szumigalski
Earthquake '89 by William Talcott
Kirk Lonegren's Home Movie Taking Place ... With Sound by Sharon Thesen
Loose Woman Poem by Sharon Thesen
Mean Drunk Poem by Sharon Thesen
The Brown Family by Colleen Thibaudeau
The Green Family by Colleen Thibaudeau
Poem by Colleen Thibaudeau
The Bread Hot From The Oven by John Thompson
Now You Have Burned Your Books: You'll Go by John Thompson
The Onion by John Thompson
Mountain Study by Peter Van Toorn
Shake'nbake Ballad by Peter Van Toorn
Advice To The Young by Miriam Dworkin Waddington
Icons by Miriam Dworkin Waddington
Old Women Of Toronto by Miriam Dworkin Waddington
Ten Years And More by Miriam Dworkin Waddington
The Women's Jail by Miriam Dworkin Waddington
Breathe Dust Like You Breathe Wind So Strong In Your Face by Fred Wah
Working Class by Bertram Warr
Emily Carr by Wilfred Watson
Lines by Wilfred Watson
Another Poem About The Madness Of Women by Tom Wayman
The Chilean Elegies: 5. The Interior by Tom Wayman
Wayman In Love by Tom Wayman
The Days Of The Unicorns by Phyllis Webb
Imperfect Sestina by Phyllis Webb
The Kropotkin Poems, Sels. by Phyllis Webb
Poetics Against The Angel Of Death by Phyllis Webb
Spots Of Blood by Phyllis Webb
To Friends Who Have Also Considered Suicide by Phyllis Webb
Daily The Drum by Anne Wilkinson
In June And Gentle Oven by Anne Wilkinson
Lens by Anne Wilkinson
Nature Be Damned by Anne Wilkinson
Imagine The South by George Woodcock
Pacifists by George Woodcock
Paper Anarchist Addresses The Shade Of Nancy Ling Perry by George Woodcock
Poem For Garcia Lorca by George Woodcock
The Great Bear Lake Meditations, Sels. by J. Michael Yates
Baptism by Dale Zieroth
Beautiful Woman by Dale Zieroth
The Hunters Of The Deer by Dale Zieroth
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder® --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Author of more than 40 books, Margaret Atwood has won as many awards, including the Union Poetry Prize (Chicago), the Bess Hoskins Prize (Chicago), the Radcliffe Graduate Medal, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Welsh Arts Council International Writers Prize, the Los Angeles Times Fiction Writers Award, the Ritz Hemingway Prize (Paris), the Arthur C. Clarke Award for best Science Fiction, the John Hughes Prize of the Welsh Development Board, and a Centennial Medal from Harvard University. Her work has been translated into more than sixteen languages. Robert Weaver, now retired from his 30-year career as executive producer of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation literary radio show "Anthology", has edited more than a dozen anthologies.

Product Details

• Paperback: 526 pages
• Publisher: SOS Free Stock (January 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195404505
• ISBN-13: 978-0195404500
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,409,591 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Origins and Development of English Canadian Verse, August 11, 2009

By 

M. Bastos - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: New Oxford book of Canadian verse in English (Paperback)

Published for the first time in 1982 this volume is a reference to those interested in exploring the history of English Canadian poetry and culture for the first time. You may not be impressed by the aesthetic of the early Canadian poets but their human message remains powerful, and documents a far less known side of the growth of the North American identity. Margaret Atwood's New Oxford Book of Canadian Verse in English is one of the rare gateways available to directly access most of these texts.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Drear prairies of mediocrity, August 2, 2011

By 

Simon G. Barrett (london, england) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: New Oxford Book of Canadian Verse in English Pb (PBK) (Paperback)

Unlike your other reviewer, I found the early poems (pre-20th century - including Oliver Goldsmith!) much the best. I'm tempted to say nothing sang, though I suppose Beginning (p295) was worthy of minor Roethke (what am I saying? all Roethke is minor!); for the rest it's the bland leading the bland, as earth-bound as a wounded snow-goose, until we get to the children of the 40s, when it livens up appreciably. That's the early 40s; by the late 40s (her 'probable chestnut-producers of the future'(!) - she's kidding herself and she knows) she loses it completely. Attempts at satire or social comment which might have added spice earlier (Ichthycide, Foreign Aid, Politics, America) are clunky. And a Canadian of all people should not be writing décolletée as décolletaged!! Unless there is some obscure ironic intent - but irony is sparse in this well-intentioned, nay pious volume (and the other eight words of French in the poem are unexceptionable)

To be asked to update an Oxford is both an honour and an intolerable burden, and these strictures do not extend to Atwood's own work, though it is her prose and prose poems (especially The Tent, wrongly categorised in my view as fiction - to boost sales?) that will survive her. Atwood's Marrying the Hangman is the outstanding piece in the collection; is it poetry though?!

Memo to anthologists: there are no 'great Canadian poems'; there are only great poems. I'd have included Phyllis Gotlieb's marvellous versions of Villon, though as hybrids of medieval France and Yiddishkeyt there's nothing Canadian about them. Spare us from collections of the merely 'representative'!