Louis The Heretic Poems AVAILABLE 0-88971-262-X · Paperback 5.5" x 8" · 96 pages · $18.95 October 2011 I am a poet With auburn-brown hair, An ember of curls The newspapers will one day Catch. Few figures in Canadian history have attained such an iconic status as Louis Riel. Celebrated Metis poet Gregory Scofield takes a fresh look at Riel in his new collection, Louis: The Heretic Poems, challenging traditional conceptions of Riel as simply a folk hero and martyr. By juxtaposing historical events and quotes with the poetic narrative, Scofield draws attention to the side of the Metis leader that most Canadians have never contemplated: that of husband, father, friend and lover, poet and visionary. Scofield also uses the collection to raise attention about the more crucial historical events of Riel's lifetime--such as the Manitoba Resistance and the Northwest Resistance at Batoche--in order to illuminate the history of western Canadian Metis people and their struggles toward recognition. Scofield also examines Riel's own poetry, most of which was devoted to exploring religious themes. Accordingly, religious imagery features strongly in the collection, complemented by a poetic voice that is rhythmic, repetitious, and lush with potent symbolism and simple, powerful images.
	The Material Sublime AVAILABLE 0-88971-261-1 · Paperback 5.5" x 8" · 80 pages · $18.95 October 2011 "Everywhere in Wilson's verse, mastery carries thought and emotion quietly into the heart." -- A.F. Moritz, from Introductions: Poets Present Poets The title of Carleton Wilson's debut poetry book, The Material Sublime, contains an apparent contradiction that is central to the collection's aim--to investigate how the intangible, spiritual sphere of existence is connected with the material world of nature and human society. With finely honed, immaculate craftsmanship and an extraordinary ability to observe and interpret minute details, Wilson brings to light the essential truth captured in this paradox. Opening and closing the book with sequences based on The Junction district of Toronto where Wilson lives, he instills the collection with a sense of place and stillness, grounding other poems ranging across space and time, subject and form--including musings on the magic of the natural world, childhood recollections, references to Bob Dylan's music and Hard Core Logo, and a series of romantically themed poems. The considerable challenge Wilson undertakes in this collection is perfectly suited to his poetic abilities--to articulate the nearly inexpressible meanings imbued in the most subtle, fleeting moments, and to do so with simplicity and elegance.
	Tenderman AVAILABLE 0-88971-259-X · Paperback 5.5" x 8" · 80 pages · $18.95 August 2011 Are you out there counting in the mast-light's dim as the back-eddy swirls the yoked boats down and fresh numbers strike to plunge the corks? Are you keeping careful track of the dead? "I grew up in a blue-collar town ten minutes down the road from a white-collar town. And I've spent most of my life uncomfortable in both places." With these opening words, accomplished poet Tim Bowling outlines the central tension that acts as a vital force in his newest book, Tenderman--the dichotomy between the sensitive poetic observer and the tough, working-class subject. Bowling returns again to the shores of his BC hometown that exert such a strong hold on his imagination, but through his focus on the tenderman figure, he also demonstrates wry self-awareness in doing so. The tenderman (a crewman on a salmon packing boat), who represents a fiercely independent everyman, acts as unintentional muse to the collection; its poems are often delivered through dialogues between poet and fisherman, reminiscences of their shared childhoods, or narratives delivered by the tenderman himself. As always, Bowling's verse is stunning in its haunting portrayal of West Coast imagery, depicting both natural beauty ("the Spanish silhouette/ crouched in warm salt dark") and the grim realities of fishing ("The kicks and slaps of a hold of dying fish--/ hands in an auditorium") with effortless grace.
	Kerosene AVAILABLE 0-88971-263-8 · Paperback 5.5" x 8" · 80 pages · $18.95 September 2011 What we used to burn for light Before power lines snapped and hummed Their way down the hill, pushing Thin-skinned poplars to the ground. In Kerosene, her debut book of poetry, Jamella Hagen weaves individual memories into a narrative that charts the process of orientation and growing maturity within shifting geographical locations. Patterned on the author's own experience, the collection follows the story of a young woman's life, encompassing the beauty and harshness of a childhood spent in the wilderness of Northern BC, the difficult process of adapting to city life, a period of extensive travel in South America, and her eventual return to the north. From a position of experience, the poet is able to contemplate the events of her lifetime with a thoughtful and sometimes gently ironic voice. Equal to the strength and wisdom of the memoir, however, is the richness and vividness of detail distilled through her clear and accessible style. Whether she's describing enigmatic memories of her mother, the exquisite but steadily disappearing Perito Moreno Glacier, or the moonshine still on her kitchen table, Hagen has mastered the trick of animating fleeting moments with an elegant touch that evokes both familiarity and wonder.
	O Canada Crosswords Book 12 NOT YET PUBLISHED 0-88971-257-3 · Paperback 8.5" x 11" · 232 pages · $11.95 September 2011 Ready, set, solve! Tipping the scales at 100 puzzles with over 10,000 clues, this is the largest O Canada Crosswords volume in over a decade! Featuring Canadian and fun-themed puzzles and packed with more wordplay and Canadiana than ever before, O Canada Crosswords 12 will satisfy diehard fans of the series and newcomers alike. Long-time Canadian crossword designer Gwen Sjogren brings her challenging combination of fun, puns and trivia to this series. From Canadian inventions to esteemed Olympians, iconic TV luminaries to big cities and small towns, Sjogren scours our country for the people, places and things that make Canada unique, resulting in a truly Canadian addition to this ever-popular series.
	The Year of Broken Glass AVAILABLE 0-88971-252-2 · Paperback 5.5" x 8.5" · 326 pages · $24.95 April 2011 Delving with authority into the bullet-ridden, the near-divine and the shortcomings of the heart, this is a flat-out terrific book. —Adam Lewis Schroeder The Year of Broken Glass is as startlingly original as the legendary fishing float that captivates its characters, and is as permeated with fragile beauty as the coastal and oceanic worlds it both celebrates and mourns. —Angie Abdou Joe Denham’s debut novel The Year of Broken Glass follows struggling crab fisherman Francis “Ferris” Wichbaun’s journey across the Pacific Ocean to deliver a legendary glass fishing float to an enigmatic, high-paying collector. Against a backdrop of worldwide seismic devastation, Ferris is forced to confront increasing concern for his two families—his wife Anna and their son Willow, and his girlfriend Jin Su and their baby daughter Emily—as well as pervasive feelings of disappointment and disillusionment. In the midst of his contemplation, he becomes entangled in both a romantic affair with his travelling companion and an ancient legend that seems to offer the possibility of redemption. Denham’s poetic background is evident in the novel’s entrancing imagery and thematic complexity, yet in his transition to prose he has also succeeded in crafting a unique, unpredictable plot and intriguing, sincerely rendered characters. Haunted by environmental degradation and human suffering, Denham affixes the carefree Wedding Guest in all of us with his glittering prose and weaves a story that is both sobering and compelling.