There is so little time between generations to pass on the storylines that are our maps to the future. Poetry is such a map, helping us understand the geography of family and society

With the responsibility of elders in mind, five acclaimed Canadian poets—Marilyn Bowering, Lorna Crozier, Susan Musgrave, Linda Rogers, and Patricia Young—are nurturing a new generation of writers who have chosen poetry as the vocation that explains the human heart.

In this unique book, the established poets offer their own superbly crafted new work alongside that of fifteen exciting new voices (Fran Bourassa, Samara Brock, Suzanne Buffam, Barbara Colebrook Peace, Brad Cran, Marlene Grand Maitre, Joelene Heathcote, Aislinn Hunter, J. William Knowles, Danielle Lagah, Elsie Neufeld, Ben Perry, Susan Alene Rodning, Kathy Sinclair, and Vera Wabegijig). Each mentor introduces her three proteges, explaining the reasons each was selected.

Not only inspired reading, Breaking the Surface offers new insights into the poetic imagination of a country internationally renowned for fine writing.

Poetry, 294 pp, 6 x 9
ISBN 1-55039-106-2, paper, $24.95