A ‘best of’ list of 2016 Canadian poetry books : dusie,

There’s been a storm brewing lately, given that The Globe & Mail didn’t include any poetry titles in their “Notable Books of 2016” list, prompting the snide remark that “no one in the world, according to the Globe, produced a ‘notable book’ throughout 2016.” Given their list is culled from books they’ve reviewed, they responded, what choice did they have? I mean, apart from actually reviewing poetry titles. Obviously.

That being said, my list of “worth repeating” [see last year’s list here] is culled from the same, from a list of poetry titles I’ve actually reviewed throughout the year. Most years I’ve been quite active, but have slowed considerably since the emergence of our two wee girls (Rose turned 3 in November; Aoife was born this past April; I am home with both), meaning the pool from which I draw is smaller than it once was. These days, two reviews a week is a hefty goal. I know there are still a considerable amount of 2016 titles I’ve been unable to properly discuss, including Stephen Brockwell’s All Of Us Reticent, Here, Together (Mansfield Press), Sylvia Legris’ The Hideous Hidden (New Directions) and Danielle Lafrance’s Friendly + Fire (Talonbooks), so simply consider them as part of this list as well. Until Aoife, at least, enters preschool, I think this is simply how the world works now.

See here for my list of highlights from 2016, now posted up at the dusie blog.