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37 poetry collections to watch for in spring 2024

If you love poetry, watch for these books coming out in the first half of 2024.

April is Poetry Month so if you love poetry, watch for these books coming out in the first half of 2024.

Nucleus by Svetlana Ischenko

A book cover of colourful birds and flowers. A white woman with bangs in front of a city skyline by the water.
Nucleus is a poetry collection by Svetlana Ischenko. (Ronsdale Press, Jennifer Ischenko)

Nucleusis a poetry collection that explores the tensions between Svetlana Ischenko's two poetic cultures as a Ukrainian Canadian immigrant and multilingual poet. With both structured sonnets and lyrical pieces, the book examines the tensions of translating oneself as a new immigrant.

Nucleus is out now.

Born in Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine, Ischenko is a Vancouver-based poet, translator, former actress and teacher. She writes poetry, essays and plays in both English and Ukrainian. Her poems have been featured in The Antigonish Review and Event.

Once the Smudge is Lit by Kelsey Borgford and Cole Forrest, illustrated by Tessa Pizzale

A woman with blonde hair and beaded jewelry, a person with short brown hair and a moustache, a book cover with lit smudge in a bowl.
Once the Smudge is Lit is a poetry collection by Kelsey Borgford, left, and Cole Forrest, middle, illustrated by Tessa Pizzale. (Mina Linklater, Emily Seiler, Kegedonce Press)

Once the Smudge is Lit offers readers insight into the spiritual elements of Ojibwayculture and explores the contemporary Indigenous experience. The verse and evocative illustrations touch on various themes ranging from love to community.

Once the Smudge is Lit is out now.

Kelsey Borgford is a Nbisiing Nishnaabekwe from the Marten clan and an emerging author. She has a forthcoming children's book called What's in a Bead.

Cole Forrest is an Ojibwayfilmmaker and programmer from Nipissing First Nation. They are the writer and director of various short films that have been screened at festivals including imagineNATIVE, TQFFand the Vancouver International Film Festival.

Tessa Pizzale is a Moose Cree artist and student at Nipissing University. She is based in North Bay, Ont.

Talking to Strangers by Rhea Tregebov

A book cover of the tips of two pairs of shoes -- converse and brown boots. A woamn with short grey hair wearing blue.
Talking to Strangers is a poetry book by Rhea Tregebov. (From Vhicule Press, Sam Znaimer)

Talking to Strangers is a poetry collection that explores new encounters with people and objects. As is characteristic of celebrated poet Rhea Tregebov, the book dabbles in the art of recollection and elegy with skill and tenderness.

Talking to Strangers is out now.

Tregebov is a Vancouver-based poet, novelist and children's writer. She's written seven books of poetry and two novels, including Rue des Rosiers, and has won the J. I. Segal Award, the Nancy Richler Memorial Prize for Fiction, the Malahat Review Long Poem Prize, the Pat Lowther Award and the Prairie Schooner Readers' Choice Award.

Hazard, Home by Christine Lowther

The author photo: a woman in front of a wooden bookshelf next to a lamp. She has long curly grey hair and freckles on her face. And the book cover: an illustration of a robin bird.
Hazard, Home is a poetry collection by Christine Lowther. (Caitlin Press, Warren Rudd)

Hazard, Home is a collection of nature poetry with a decolonial lens.The work examines the world with wonder at the animals and plants and grief due to urbanization, climate change and loss of biodiversity.

Hazard, Home is out now.

Christine Lowther resides in auukwiiat (Tla-o-qui-aht) territory on the west coast. She is the editor of Worth More Standing: Poets and Activists Pay Homage to Trees and its youth companion volume. She is also the author of four poetry collections. She served as Tofino's Poet Laureate during the COVID years and was shortlisted for the 2023 CBC NonfictionPrize.

Precedented Parroting by Barbara Tran

A composite of the author photo: an Asian woman with dark hair wearing a grey beads necklace and black top; and the book cover featuring an illustration of a sea shore
Precedented Parroting is a poetry collection by Barbara Tran. (Barbara Tran, Palimpsest Press)

The poems inPrecedented Parrotingexplore themes of loss, the natural world, Asian stereotypesand our feathered friends. It's also a book about survival through generations and how bothloss and feathers canenable and necessitate flight.

Precedented Parrotingis out now.

Born in New York City, Barbara Tran is a poet whose work has appeared in Women's Review of Books, Ploughshares and The New Yorker. Honours include a MacDowell Colony Gerald Freund Fellowship, Pushcart Prize and Lannan Foundation Writing Residency. She was longlisted for the2018 CBC Nonfiction Prize. She currently lives in Toronto.

Northerny by Dawn Macdonald

A book cover of a little shack and a shining moon. A woman with grey curly hair peeks out of a wooden cabin window.
Northerny is a poetry collection by Dawn Macdonald. (University of Alberta Press, Sean Pond)

Northerny tells of what it's like to grow up in the North and themany ways in which the North can be messy, beautiful and painful. This poetry collection breaks free of the perception of the North as a way to enlightenment or escape and gives a Northerner's perspective of growing up and making a living in the region.

Northerny is out now.

Dawn Macdonald lives in Whitehorse and studied mathematics and physics at university. Her poetry has been published in The Antigonish Review, Canadian Literature, The Fiddlehead, FOLIO, Grain, Literary Review of Canada and The Malahat Review, among others. Northerny is her first book.

We Follow the River by Onjana Yawnghwe

An abstract book cover of two people in a green forest. An Asian woman with grey hair leans left against a pink background.
We Follow the River is a book by Onjana Yawnghwe. (Caitlin Press, Onjana Yawnghwe)

We Follow the River follows one family who escapes from military violence in Myanmar to Thailand and finally Canada. The collection is about learning about family history and finding a home in a foreign land.

We Follow the River is out now.

Onjana Yawnghwe is a Shan-Canadian writer who lives on the lands of the Kwikwetlem First Nation in British Columbia. Her poetry books include Fragments, Desire and The Small Way, which were both nominated for the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize.

Teeth by Dallas Hunt

A black book cover with an image of teeth made out of beads. A man wearing a black t-shirt and glasses crosses his tattooed arms.
Teeth is a poetry collcetion by Dallas Hunt. (Nightwood Editions, Conor McNally)

Teeth is a poetry collection that explores the consequences of colonization and why it continues to repeat itself in today's society. The book also celebrates the successes of Indigenous peoples and looks into the realities they face.

Teeth is out now.

Dallas Hunt is Cree and a member of Wapsewsipi (Swan River First Nation) in Treaty Eight territory in northern Alberta. His children's book, Awsis and the World-Famous Bannock, illustrated by Amanda Strong, was nominated for several awards and was one of the 2024CBC Kids Readscontenders. Hunt lives in Vancouver.

Gay Girl Prayers by Emily Austin

A book cover with a nun on it. A white woman with blonde hair and glasses wearing a black beanie.
Gay Girl Prayers is a poetry collection by Emily Austin. (Brick Books, Bridget Forberg)

Gay Girl Prayers is a poetry collection that reclaims Catholic prayers and passages from the Bible to empower young women and members of the LGBTQIA+ community. At once sassy and funny, this book celebrates cultural and societal differences.

Gay Girl Prayers is out now.

Emily Austin is an Ottawa-based writer. Her debut novel, Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead, was longlisted for The Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour and shortlisted for the Amazon First Novel Award and the Ottawa Book Award.

A Blueprint for Survival by Kim Trainor

A book cover of a blueprint. A white woman with short hair in front of a bookcase.
A Blueprint for Survival is a poetry book by Kim Trainor. (Guernica Editions)

A Blueprint for Survival is a poetry collection that starts in wildfire season and then explores the forms of resistance and survival in the context of climate change. It examines each of these forms as a blueprint for being in and seeing the world.

A Blueprint for Survival is out now.

Kim Trainor is the author of the poetry collections A thin fire runs through me, Karyotype and Ledi. Her poems have won the Fiddlehead's Ralph Gustafson Prize, the Malahat Review Long Poem Prize and the Great Blue Heron Prize. Her poem Desolation made the 2019 CBC Poetry Prize longlist. She lives in Vancouver.

Love Life Loss and a little bit of hope by Chief R. Stacey Laforme

A blue, pink and orange book cover. A man with grey/black hair wearing a beaded necklace.
Love Life Loss and a little bit of hope is a poetry collection by Chief R. Stacey Laforme. (Durvile, Lorene Shyba)

In this poetry collection, Chief R. Stacey Laforme draws from his own experiences to share the moments and emotions that have shaped him. Intertwining pain and humour, it invites non-Indigenous people to explore Indigenous perspectives.

Love Life Loss and a little bit of hope is out now.

Laforme is the retired Chief of the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation after serving his community for over 20 years. He is also a poet and storyteller, known for his collection Living in the Tall Grass: Poems of Reconciliation.

Medium by Johanna Skibsrud

A book cover of a person in a very pouffy dress in the wilderness. A black and white image of a woman with curly hair in a ponytail.
Medium is a poetry collection by Johanna Skibsrud. (Book*hug Press, Christine Whelan-Hachey)

Medium is a poetry collection that gives voice to women vilified over the course of history including Helen of Troy, Shakuntala Devi and Marie Curie. The poems serve as a bridge through time and reimagine and reinterpret the myths as we know them.

Medium is out now.

Johanna Skibsrud is theScotiabank Giller Prize-winning author ofThe Sentimentalists. She also wrote the novelQuartet for the End of Timeand the short story collectionsTiger, TigerandThis Will Be Difficult to Explain and Other Stories. She currently divides her time between Nova Scotia and Arizona.

impact statement by Jody Chan

An abstract white, blue and red book cover. An Asian person with a black bob and a septum piercing.
impact statement is a poetry collection by Jody Chan. (Brick Books, Sarah Bodri)

Using patient records, psychiatric assessments and court documents, impact statement tells the history of psychiatric institutions within the context of colonialism. The collection deals with themes of migration, intergenerational trauma, gentrification and racialized violence all while making space for a better future.

impact statementis out now.

Jody Chan is a Toronto-based writer, drummer, organizer and therapist. Their work includes haunt, all out futures and sick. They are the winner of the 2018 St. Lawrence Book Award and the 2021 Trillium Award for Poetry.

you by Chantal Neveu, translated by Ern Moure

A woman with short brown hair. A woman with brown hair and glasses. A book cover of a blue-tinted rock.
you is a poetry book by Chantal Neveu, left, translated by Ern Moure. (Laurence Grandbois Bernard, E. Sampedrin, Book*hug Press)

you is a book-length poem that explores the formation of self and personal autonomy. Through verse and the spaces in between, the beautiful voice of the work reclaims and affirms one's life.

you is out now.

Chantal Neveu is a Montreal-based author of seven books of poetry. Her book This Radiant Life, also translated by Ern Moure won the 2021 Governor General's Literary Award for Translation and the 2021 Nelson Ball Prize.

Moure is a poet and poetry translator. Her most recent book is Chus Pato's The Face of the Quartzes and her latest poetry book is Theophylline.

West of West Indian by Linzey Corridon

A composite of the book cover, a splash of green watercolour with the title and the portrait of the author: a Black man wearing a suit in front of cherry blossoms
West of West Indian is a poetry collection by Linzey Corridon. (Mawenzi House)

West of West Indian is a poetry collection that explores the Queer Caribbean experience, both the pain and pleasure, as an individual and a collective. It dives into themes of love and autonomy using language that is often used to unsettle queer life.

West of West Indianis out now.

Linzey Corridon is a writer and educator. He was born in the Caribbean and he now lives in Canada.

A Year of Last Things by Michael Ondaatje

A beige book cover. A man wearing a black shirt with white hair.
A Year of Last Things is a poetry collection by Michael Ondaatje. (Knopf)

A Year of Last Things is Michael Ondaatje's long-awaited return to poetry. Drawing on his personal experiences, this collection goes back in time to all the borders that he's crossed with imagery at once witty, moving and wise.

A Year of Last Thingsis out now.

Michael Ondaatje is a Canadian literary icon. His novels and poetry have earned international acclaim, and he was the first Canadian ever to win the Man Booker Prize in 1992, for the wartime story The English Patient. Born in Sri Lanka and educated in England, Ondaatje moved to Canada when he was 18 to attend university.

Ondaatje began his writing career in 1967 as a poet, winning two Governor General's Awards for poetry before turning to fiction. Over his career, he's won the Giller Prize, the Governor General's Literary Award and France's prestigious Prix Medicis among other prizes.

The Seventh Town of Ghosts by Faith Arkorful

A book cover of hand with oranges and leaves. A black and white photo of a Black woman with long dreadlocks wearing a grey crewneck.
The Seventh Town of Ghosts is a book by Faith Arkorful. (McClelland & Stewart, Sarah Bodri)

The Seventh Town of Ghosts explores these titular towns through songs that help readers grapple with the challenges of existence and independence. The book offers insight into the power of connection, tenderness and the human spirit.

The Seventh Town of Ghosts is out now.

Faith Arkorful has had her work published in Guts, Peach Mag, Prism International, Hobart, Without/pretend, The Puritan and Canthius, among others. She was a semi-finalist in the 2019 92Y Discovery Contest. Faith was born in Toronto, where she still resides. In 2020, she was shortlisted for the CBC Poetry Prize.

The Knot of My Tongue by Zehra Naqvi

An abstract book cover of a face and birds. A woman wearing a burgundy head covering against a leafy background.
The Knot of My Tongue is a poetry book by Zehra Naqvi. (McClelland & Stewart)

The Knot of My Tongue uses a variety of poetic forms to capture a cast of characters as they attempt to express the inexpressible, from a new immigrant to Canada trying to speak a new language to the myth of Philomena searching for ways to communicate after her husband cuts off her tongue.

The Knot of My Tongue is out now.

Zehra Naqvi is a Vancouver-based writer who was born in Karachi. She won the 2021 RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers. The Knot of My Tongue is her debut poetry collection.

shima by Sh Yamagushiku

A book cover of cartoon people carrying a bowl with smoke coming out of it. A man with a beard and long hair with a blurred city background.
shima is a poetry book by Sh Yamagushiku. (McClelland & Stewart, Victor Silva)

shima is a poetry collection that questions both the past and future of a community exiled, anchored in the relationship of a father and son. It shows the fragility of memory with a voice at once yearning and precise.

shima is out now.

Sh Yamagushiku is a writer and researcher living in Victoria.shima is his debut poetry collection.

Oh Witness Dey! by Shani Mootoo

An abstract orange book cover with an eye. A black and white photo of a woman with glasses and short hair wearing a button-up.
Oh Witness Dey! is a poetry book by Shani Mootoo. (Book*hug Press, Darren Rampersad)

With no record of how they got there and where they're originally from, Shani Mootoo's great-great-grandparents were brought to Trinidad by the British. Oh Witness Dey! discusses the concept of "origin" through an exploration of history, displacements and legacy, starting with her own.

Oh Witness Dey! is out now.

Mootoo is a writer and visual artist who currently lives in Ontario. Her debut novel was 1997's Cereus Blooms at Night. Her novel Polar Vortex was shortlisted for the 2020 Scotiabank Giller Prize. Her other books include the novels Cane | Fire, Moving Forward Sideways like a Crab and Valmiki's Daughter. In 2022, she won the Writers' Trust Engel Findley Award for fiction writers in the middle of their career.

Fine by Matt Rader

An abstract book cover of a person's legs and a lakeside view. A man with glasses and a short beard by a body of water.
Fine is a poetry collection by Matt Rader. (Nightwood Editions)

Fine takes place in the Kelowna area from June 2021 to June 2022. The poetry collection deals with the events from that time period, including the pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the November 2021 atmospheric river. Despite all these challenges, the poems present a voice of survival and an appreciation for the world's beauty.

When you can read it: April 2024

Rader is a writer from Kelowna, B.C. He is the author of six volumes of poetry, a book of nonfiction and the short story collection What I Want to Tell Goes Like This. He teaches creative writing at the University of British Columbia Okanagan.

The Oneironaut 1 by Sheri-D Wilson

A black book cover with a blue astronaut. A woman with grey hair by the water.
The Oneironaut 1 is a book by Sheri-D Wilson. (Write Bloody North)

The Oneironaut 1 is the first book-long epic poem in a trilogy that explores what the future would look like if we couldn't dream. In this speculative account, scientist Rain is drawn to a small group of people who protect the world of illusion and feels compelled to help them bring down the dystopian regime and allow people to dream once again.

When you can read it: April 2024

Sheri-D Wilson is a Calgary-based writer and artist of 13 books, four short films and three words and music albums. She was appointed to The Order of Canada in 2019 and was the Poet Laureate Emeritus of Calgary from 2018-2020.

The Last to the Party by Chuqiao Yang

An abstract of a long exposed photo. An Asian woman with long black hair.
The Last to the Party is a book by Chuqiao Yang. (icehouse poetry, poet express)

The Last to the Party is a poetry collection that deals with family, culture and diaspora through place and perspective from a Saskatchewan childhood to family visits in Taiyuan. In this moving account, the speaker searches for moments of self-discovery and finds a strong poetic vision.

When you can read it: April 2, 2024

Chuqiao Yang is an Ottawa-based poet whose work has been featured in The Unpublished City, Ricepaper, Arc Poetry Magazine, Canthius, Prism, Grain, CV2, Room, and on CBC Radio. Her chapbook, Reunions in the Year of Sheep, won the bpNichol Chapbook Award.

The Lantern and the Night Moths by Yilin Wang

A book cover of a lantern and a moth. An Asian woman wearing glasses and a plaid shirt.
The Lantern and the Night Moths is a book by Yilin Wang. (Divya Kaur)

The Lantern and the Night Moths is a translation of poems by five contemporary and modern Chinese poets, Qiu Jin, Fei Ming, Dai Wangshu, Zhang Qiaohui and Xiao Xi. The poems are translated next to their original text and the book includes essays about the art of poetry translation.

When you can read it: April 2, 2024

Yilin Wang is a writer, poet and Chinese-English translator. Her fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction have appeared in Clarkesworld, The Malahat Review, Arc Poetry Magazine, Grain, CV2, carte blanche and The Tyee. They won the Foster Poetry Prize, an Honorable Mention in the poetry category of Canada's National Magazine award and werelonglisted for the 2020 CBC Poetry Prize. She is based in Vancouver.

Terrarium by Matthew Walsh

A book cover with drawings of a house and a lake and grass. A black and white image of a white man leaning on his forearm wearing a beanie.
Terrarium is a poetry book by Matthew Walsh. (icehouse poetry, David Schoonover)

Terrarium is a poetry collection that explores queer identity and depression using a conversational writing style. Raw, confessional and often messy, the voice has a quality of intimacy and shared secrets.

When you can read it: April 2, 2024

Matthew Walsh is a poet known for their debut book These are not the potatoes of my youth, which was a finalist for the Trillium and Gerald Lampert Awards. Walsh has previously contributed poetry to publications like The Malahat Review and Arc. They are now based in Toronto.

Sorry About the Fire by Colleen Coco Collins

A book cover of an eagle carrying another bird. A woman wearing a brown tank top and a pink skirt.
Sorry About the Fire is a book by Colleen Coco Collins. (Biblioasis, Magali Charron)

Sorry About the Fire is a debut poetry collection that sees the world through a triple lens of Irish, French and Odawa heritage. Using rhythmic language, it attempts to detect patterns and answer questions of time and being.

When you can read it: April 2, 2024

Colleen Coco Collins is an interdisciplinary artist of Irish, French and Odawa descent. Based in Nova Scotia, Sorry About the Fire is her first poetry collection.

Scientific Marvel by Chimwemwe Undi

A book cover of two eggs balancing on top of one another at the edge of a table. A Black woman leans on her hand resting on a wooden table.
Scientific Marvel is a poetry book by Chimwemwe Undi. (House of Anansi Press, Imalka Nilmalgoda)

Scientific Marvel is a poetry collection that looks into the history of and current life in Winnipeg. With humour and surprise, it delves into deeper themes of racism, queerness and colonialism while keeping personal lived experiences close to the page.

When you can read it: April 2, 2024

Chimwemwe Undi is a Winnipeg-based poet, editor and lawyer. She is the Winnipeg Poet Laureate for 2023 and 2024. Undi was longlisted for the 2020 CBC Poetry Prize. She won the 2022 John Hirsch Emerging Writer Award from the Manitoba Book Awards and her work can be found in Brick, Border Crossings, Canadian Literature and BBC World, among others.

Midway by Kayla Czaga

A book cover of a ferris wheel near the water. A woman wearing a beanie and a plaid shirt.
Midway is a poetry book by Kayla Czaga. (House of Anansi Press, Erin Flegg)

Midway is a poetry collection that explores the writer's grief in the aftermath of her parents' deaths. The poems travel from the underworld to London's Tate Modern in a way that's both comforting and disconcerting.

When you can read it: April 2, 2024

Kayla Czaga is also the author of For Your Safety Please Hold On and Dunk Tank. Her debut won the Gerald Lampert Memorial Award and was nominated for the Governor General's Literary Award for poetry and the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize, among others. Czaga was on the 2018 CBC Poetry Prize longlist for Drunk River. She lives in Victoria and served as the online poetry mentor for Simon Fraser University's The Writer's Studio.

Crying Dress by Cassidy McFadzean

An abstract beige book cover. A woman with blonde hair sits on a chair with her hands in her lap.
Crying Dress is a poetry book by Cassidy McFadzean. (House of Anansi Press, Tony Tulathimutte)

Crying Dress is a poetry collection rooted in the tradition of lyric poetry while adopting its own spin and linguistic play that challenges an idea of poetic coherence. It spans various locations and brings together scenes from intimate moments in domestic life to ones featuring the ghosts of Brooklyn.

When you can read it: April 2, 2024

Regina-raised Cassidy McFadzean is a past finalist for the CBC Poetry Prize and The Walrus Poetry Prize. Her poetry books are Drolleries and Hacker Packer, which won two Saskatchewan Book Awards. She also wrote a crown of sonnets called Third State of Being. She currently lives in Toronto.

A Fate Worse Than Death by Nisha Patel

A book cover of hand prints. A woman with long brown hair puts her hands in front of her.
A Fate Worse Than Death is a book by Nisha Patel. (Arsenal Pulp Press, Zach Polis)

A Fate Worse Than Death is a poetry collection that uses the author's own medical records to investigate the worthiness of the disabled life. It explores how her multiple disabilities affect her daily life and shows how poetry allows her to offer complexity to her experiences her pain, sickness, anger but also love.

When you can read it: April 2, 2024

Nisha Patel is the Poet Laureate Emeritus of the City of Edmonton and a Canadian Poetry Slam Champion. She is the author ofCoconut.A disabled and queer artist, she won the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Medal and the Edmonton Artists' Trust Fund.

Wet by Leanne Dunic

A red book cover. A woman with long black curled hair and red lipstick.
Wet is a poetry book by Leanne Dunic. (Talonbooks, Ronnie Lee Hill)

Wet follows a Chinese American model working in Singapore who wants better for the world: fair labour rights, breathable air and connection. With a mastery of photography and language, Wet tells her story as she feels lost and observes migrant workers in dangerous conditions.

When you can read it: April 6, 2024

Leanne Dunic is an artist, musician, writer and PhD candidate. Her work includes poetry book To Love the Coming End and One and Half of You, which was named one of the best nonfiction books of 2021 by CBC Books. She won the 2021 LA Review Flash Fiction Award and currently lives in Vancouver.

Songbook by Steven Heighton, edited by Ginger Pharand

A book cover of a guitar and a man walking on a road alone. A man with brown hair and scruff.
Songbook is a book written by Steven Heighton. (ECW Press, Mary Huggard)

Songbook brings together the lyrics and music of the late award-winning author and musician Steven Heighton, who died suddenly of cancer during an intensely creative period of writing. The poems are accompanied by chords, allowing musicians to bring them to life.

When you can read it: April 23, 2024

Steven Heighton was a musician and author of 20 books of poetry, nonfiction and fiction, including Afterlands and Governor General's Literary Award winningTheWaking Comes Late. He lived in Kingston, Ontario.

Ginger Pharand is a Kingston-based editor, educator and psychotherapist.

Limited Verse by David Martin

A book cover that looks like a rusting journal. A man with glasses wearing a pink velvet suit.
Limited Verse is a book by David Martin. (University of Calgary Press, Joe Tran)

Limited Verse is a collection of classic poems with a new twist they're translated into New English, made up of only 850 words.

When you can read it: April 30, 2024

David Martin is an author of poetry collectionsKink Bandsand Tar Swan, which was a finalist for the Raymond Souster Award and the W.O. Mitchell City of Calgary Book Prize. Martin won the CBC Poetry Prize in 2014.

I Will Get Up Off Of by Simina Banu

A book cover of a white chair against a blue background. A person wearing a black t-shit and baseball cap in black and white.
I Will Get Up Off Of is a poetry book by Simina Banu. (Coach House Books, Gerardo Salazar)

I Will Get Up Off Of is a poetry collection about trying to leave a chair. Bound by anxiety and depression and looking for hope everywhere from fitness influencers to psychics, the poems eventually become more and more desperate and highlight the importance of art when it comes to survival.

When you can read it: May 21, 2024

Simina Banu is a Montreal-based author. Having published two chapbooks before, her first full-length collection of poetry was POP. Her poetry has appeared in filling Station, untethered, In/Words Magazine and the Feathertale Review, among others.

Barfly by Michael Lista

A black book cover with a little fly on red writing. A man with a beard poses outdoors.
Barfly is a poetry book by Michael Lista. (Biblioasis)

At once hilarious and raw, Barfly uses Byronic rhymes and Auden's meters to discuss twenty-first century topics.

When you can read it: June 4, 2024

Michael Lista is a Toronto-based poet and journalist, whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Slate, The Walrus and Toronto Life. He is the author of several books of poetry and a collection of essays. Lista was the winner of the 2020 National Magazine Award Gold Medals for both Investigative Reporting and Long Form Feature Writing. His story, The Sting, is being adapted into a television series for Apple TV+.

Lossless by Matthew Tierney

An abstract blue and green book cover. A bland man holds his glasses in one hand in a room with wires.
Lossless is a book by Matthew Tierney. (Coach House Books, Laura Brown)

Lossless is a poetry collection that explores the connection between algorithms and sonnets, viewing the verses as lines of code. It does this all while accessing inherently human experiences of loss of relationships, faith, childhood and people.

When you can read it: June 5, 2024

Matthew Tierney is the author of four books of poetry, including Midday at the Super-Kamiokande which was nominated for a ReLit Award. He is the winner of the 2013 Trillium Book Award for Poetry and is also a recipient of the K. M. Hunter Award and the P.K. Page Founders' Award. He lives in Toronto.

Unwashed by Daniel Maluka

The book cover with a black silhouette in a target shape and the book author: a Black man standing in front of a graffitied garage door.
Daniel Maluka is the author of the poetry book Unwashed. (Mawenzi House, Hannah Polinski)

Unwashed is a poetry collection that reflects the author's experience as an immigrant to Canada and the themes of growing up, love and alienation. Image-rich and intense, the poems explore the city of Toronto in a loud and unapologetic manner.

When you can read it: June 15, 2024

Daniel Maluka is an artist and writer from South Africa based in Toronto. Unwashed is his debut poetry collection.

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