Book cover of Poems: New and Selected

Book description

One of Canada's most distinguished poets and winner of the Governor General's Award in 1979 for Poems New and Selected , Patrick Lane deserves much admiration for his remarkable poetic achievement. This new volume of his verse traces the evolution of his work and includes both poetry from his previously…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Poems as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I can’t create a list of recommended books based on books I love without Patrick Lane’s 1978 Poems: New and Selected.

Every author remembers that book, the one that both showed them what writing could do and inspired them to try it, too. For me, this book is the perfect marriage between down-to-earth-and-sometimes-unbearably-painful life and sublimely beautiful language.

This book is what I’d show you if you asked me what the saying means, “Hymns to the light are best sung in darkness.” 

From Richard's list on answering sorrow with understanding.

If you love Poems...

Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

Want books like Poems?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Poems.

Browse books like Poems

Book cover of Fun Home
Book cover of This Is Assisted Dying
Book cover of The Book of Grief and Hamburgers

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,337

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like Poems, you might also like...

Book cover of No Good Deed

No Good Deed by Jennifer Barraclough,

Marriage. Memory. Medicine. Malice.

A tragicomic novel about the toxic relationship between two couples who first met at medical school and whose paths cross again many years later.

Charlotte is married to Henry, a retired consultant pathologist. She abandoned her own medical training after a harrowing experience left her emotionally…

Book cover of Blunt Force Trauma

Blunt Force Trauma by Jeff Kerr,

An innocent man doesn’t run. He fights. And Adam Cash is a fighter. If the Taliban couldn’t stop him, neither can a bully like Griff Turner, his rival in the race for county sheriff.

But when Turner turns up dead, the blame falls on Cash. If Cash is to be…

5 book lists we think you will like!