Poetry

Burnett, M. 1993

The Centre of the World: A Plains Journey. Whiskey Jack Publishing Ltd, Calgary, Alberta, Canada 87 pp.
AEU HSS PS 8552 U787 C39 A series of prose poems, illustrated by historic and modern photos of plains locales. Imagined conversations between prominent late 19th century figures, such as Riel and Sitting Bull. (10/Nov/2001).

Hill, G. 2001

The Man from Saskatchewan. Coteau Books, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada 76 pp.
AEU HSS PS 8565 I443 M36 Despite the title, very few of these poems are tied to place or have a particular prairie flavour. The cover art says 'drought', with the shadow of a man across a dried-up mud-cracked lake-bed. Most poems deal with personal experiences, and have a ruminative flavour. They are inward, rather than outward, looking. (24/May/2006).

Hill, G. 2008

My Human Comedy: The Man From Saskatchewan Book Two. Coteau Books, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada 105 pp.
AEU HSS PS 8565 I443 M9 Some of these poems have prairie connections - praying for rain or driving across the prairies at night - but most don't and could have been written anywhere. There's not much that is distinctive to the prairies in these poems. Many poems feature crows, which Hill appears to see as creatures emblematic of the prairie landscape. I particularly liked the two poems about being a poetry teacher ("Advice to First-year English Students Ready to Read a Poem" and "Anecdote of the Readers") which are described as poems for an office door. In the latter poem, Hill imagines himself kidnapped by militant readers who want to force him to tell them what his poems mean. This is straightforward and uncomplicated poetry, easy to read. (22/Aug/2009).

Lilburn, T. 1994

Moosewood Sandhills. McClelland and Stewart, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 68 pp.
AEU HSS PS 8562 I27 M66 Rich poetry dealing with the sandhill country of Saskatchewan.

Lilburn, T. 1999

To the River. McClelland and Stewart, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 75 pp.
AEU HSS PS 8562 I27 T6 Dense and allusive poems. The river of the title is the South Saskatchewan.

Lilburn, T. 2003

Kill-site. McClelland and Stewart, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 75 pp.
AEU HSS PS 8562 I27 K54 More exploration of inward and outward landscapes, focussed on southern and central Alberta and Saskatchewan. The more I read this poetry, the more I enjoy it. It well repays the effort of understanding. Lilburn was given the 2003 Governor General's Award for Poetry for this book. (13/Dec/2003).

Marty, S. 1999

Sky Humour. Black Moss Press, Windsor, Ontario, Canada 101 pp.
AEU HSS PS 8563 A797 S59 Poetry focussed on the land and people of southwestern Alberta.