Book Ends: A year between the covers
Naomi Beth Wakan

New from Poplar Press, our imprint filled with "Books You Want to Read" Everyone’s favourite “old biddy from Gabriola Island,” Naomi Beth Wakan, captures a year of her obsessive reading in her new collection Book Ends: A year between the covers. This lively conversation covers almost every genre – fiction, essays, poetry, biography, science and the arts – and Naomi’s tart observations on both books and authors frees readers to consider what they actually enjoy reading, rather than what they have been told is good. Naomi’s compulsive reading rubs off on the reader, as they are encouraged to become more aware and involved in their own reading selection. Book Ends is a must for any book club member or bibliophile.

Dust from our Eyes: An unblinkered look at Africa, Second Edition
Joan Baxter

"Dust from our Eyes is one Canadian's attempt to understand why Africa continues to experience injustice and exploitation in what some call the age of neo-colonialism ... [Joan Baxter's] deep respect for and keen interest in all things African makes this book both a labour of love and a lament for lost hopes." - Adelia Neufeld Wiens, The Winnipeg Free Press
"Even while tackling so many politically charged issues, Dust from our Eyes remains a deeply human book, with a narrative and a set of interviews running through every chapter. This is a compelling work that could change your perspective on Africa and the West's impact there." - Joseph Howse, The Chronicle Herald

You Know Who You Are
Ian Williams

You Know Who You Are is a debut collection from an accomplished new poet. It addresses the crisis of young black masculinity in cities, flirting with language that is street savvy and involves the reader in the creation and application of stereotypes. This is a lively, creative collection, spiked with unexpected humour and laced through with a poetic playfulness that gives its difficult subject matter an unexpected sparkle.

Burning House
Richard Lemm

In a portrait-gallery of poems, Richard Lemm considers everything from the history of war in the United States to an undertakers’ convention in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. History, war and a search for understanding thread through this collection, in poems that have vivid, dynamic imagery and a strong emotional resonance.

Turning the Corner at Dusk
Jacquie Buncel

Turning the Corner at Dusk is a searing collection of poetry. Starting in Presov, Slovakia, we join Jacquie Buncel as she accompanies her father back to his boyhood home. With poems as clear as snapshots we move through Buncel's growing understanding of the Holocaust and her connection with Judaism past and present. The collection ends with the celebration of new life as both she and her partner celebrate the births of their two daughters.

Now is the Winter: Thinking about Hockey
Richard Harrison and Jamie Dopp

Editors Jamie Dopp and Richard Harrison have put together a wide-ranging collection of essays that examine all aspects of Canada's beloved sport. From its mythical beginning on a frozen northern pond to its evolution into a sport for mass consumption, with many fascinating stops along the way, this collection celebrates hockey while acknowledging that there is more to it than a lone figure skating on an outdoor rink.

Seven Ravens: Two summers in a life by the sea
Lesley Choyce

This collection is a philosophical and perceptive memoir of a time in author Lesley Choyce's life when he'd been knocked down "several rungs on the wobbly ladder I was climbing." On this journey we meet orphaned raccoons and lost arctic birds, revisit some of the history of Nova Scotia and are accompanied by the wisdom of ancient writers. This is a fascinating, meandering work, filled with gentle humour and unabashed joy at the beauties of the natural world.

Reticent Bodies
Moez Surani

Reticent Bodies is Toronto author Moez Surani's long-awaited debut collection. Shaped by a childhood spent listening to a mixture of Gujarati, Kutchi, Urdu and Swahili around the kitchen table, while attending a French Immersion school in Toronto, Surani's poems could define the epitome of Canada's ethnic layering. Spare Canadian lyricism is combined with unusual linguistic rhythms and sharp bursts of vibrant imagery in an exceptional poetic debut.