To Possess the Land An Anthology of Confederation Poetry

by Deahl, James

• ISBN13: 9781778490170
• ISBN10: 1778490174
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2026-03-01
• Publisher: Guernica Editions

Summary

To Possess The Land is an anthology of 16 of Canada’s most important Confederation Poets, with bio notes and bibliography. Their poetry has been out-of-print for decades. Among the goals of this anthology is an investigation of the climate of opinion in Canada in the years following Confederation. The period of 1880 - 1920 is studied. By reading these poems, readers will understand the romantic dreams that were common during the early decades of Canada, dreams that were ended by World War I. After the war, Canada became a different place.

Author Biography

James Deahl was born in Pittsburgh in 1945, and grew up in that city as well as in and around the Laurel Highlands of the Appalachian Mountains. He moved to Canada in 1970 and holds Canadian citizenship. He is the author or editor of forty literary titles, recently his two prior collections from Guernica, Rooms the Wind Makes and Red Haws to Light the Field, as well as Tamaracks: Canadian poetry for the 21st century, the first major anthology of Canadian poetry published in the U.S. in three decades. He is the father of Sarah, Simone, and Shona, with whom he is translating the poetry of the Québécois poet Émile Nelligan. Deahl lives in Sarnia with companion Norma West Linder.