Books published by Nightwood Editions

From the monk who sets himself on fire in a crowded intersection of Saigon (the familiar corded tendons of his hands, become / a bracken of ashes, a carbon twine of burnt), to the salmon run in British Columbia (The salmon word / for home is glacierdust and once-tall trees unlimbed, / a taste, no matter where, they know), Johnson writes of topics varied and eclectic, unified by a focus on moments both declining and revenant.

Drawn from nine collections published over thirty years, the forty-one poems in this retrospective reveal the poetic accomplishments of John Barton. In this collection, Barton explores the role of love in contemporary society, the complexity of gay experience, the persistence of homophobia, the reinvention of the idea of family, and the fear and courage that AIDS engendered and how it continues to shape the search and attainment of intimacy.

What we used to burn for lightBefore power lines snapped and hummedTheir way down the hill, pushingThin-skinned poplars to the ground.

I am a poetWith auburn-brown hair, An ember of curlsThe newspapers will one day Catch.

"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.

A moving, fictional account of a young woman's journey through the lives of her grandparents, her own very different urban reality, and the search for something ageless.

Shortlisted for the Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia Atlantic Poetry PrizeGeorge Murray proves once again he is one of his generation's most accomplished poets with The Rush to Here. Diverging from the excess and declamation of his highly praised previous collection, The Hunter, Murray breaks new poetic ground in poems that are dangerous, sharp and glistening in both language and style.Combining what the poet calls "thought-rhyme" with the structured sonnet form, Murray's philosophical curiosity and hardnosed intelligence emerge to create an off-kilter eye that somehow manages to be dead on target. As though looking out a window by which the entire world is passing, The Rush to Here darts through the absurdity of daily life to organize the mess and contradictions of modern society.Relentlessly honest, elegant in form and language, The Rush to Here is an intimidating, eerie, but ultimately hopeful collection that sets George Murray apart as a voice for our time.