The best Canadian poetry of 2020

Here are CBC Books's picks for top Canadian poetry of the year.

Mother's Milkby Sacha Archer

Mother's Milkis a collection of visual poems made from rubber stamping. The poems in this limited edition book (only 99 copies were made) are vivid and expertly crafted.Mother's Milkis a stunning book, rich and full of life.

Sacha Archeris a poet from Burlington, Ont. He is also the author of the poetry collections Detour and Zoning Cycle. He is the editor ofSimulacrum Press, which publishes experimental poetry.

Dearly by Margaret Atwood

Dearlyis Margaret Atwood's first poetry collection in over a decade. The collectiongathers poems about "absences and endings, aging and retrospection... gifts and renewals" and draws from the natural and supernatural world.

• Atwood at 80: A timeline of the iconic Canadian writer's life

Atwood is the celebrated Canadian writer who has published fiction, nonfiction,poetry andcomics. Her acclaimed books include the novelsThe Handmaid's Tale,Alias Grace,Oryx and CrakeandThe Edible Woman. She has won several awards for her work including the Governor General's Literary Award, the Scotiabank Giller Prize andthe Booker Prize. Her other poetry collections includeThe Circle Game,The Journalsof Susanna Moodie,Power Politicsin 1971andThe Door.

Swivelmount by Ken Babstock

Swivelmountis the latestpoetry collection by acclaimed poet Ken Babstock. The poems inSwivelmountexplore mourning, faith and uncertainty with compassion and dark humour.

Babstockis a poet from Newfoundland who now lives in Toronto. His collectionMethodist Hatchetwon the 2011 Griffin Poetry Prize. His other collections includeMean, Days Into FlatspinandAirstream Land Yacht. He received the 2014Latner Writer's Trust Poetry Prize, which recognizes a Canadian poet in mid-career.

CBC Book Club1:39Griffin Poetry Prize 2012 nominee Ken Babstock

Ken Babstock reads from his nominated collection Methodist Hatchet for As It Happens.

Moving to Climate Change Hoursby Ross Belot

Moving to Climate Change Hourslooks at the challenges humanityhas created for ourselves through climate change. These poems contemplateour reliance on fossil fuels and imagines the end of the oil and gas industry. The book includes the poem that was shortlisted for the 2016CBC Poetry Prize,The Edge of Everything.

• Past CBC Poetry Prize finalist Ross Belot has some writing advice for you

Ross Belot is a poet, photographer, documentary filmmaker and columnist who lives in Hamilton, Ont. He was a finalist for the 2016CBC Poetry Prize.He is also the author of the poetry collectionSwimming In The Dark.

CBC Books7:52Ross Belot on In Town and Out

Past CBC Poetry Prize finalist Ross Belot discusses the power of poetry during this time and offers advice to aspiring writers.

The Response of Weeds by Bertrand Bickersteth

"Storied soil" is thephraseBickersteth uses to describe his home province of Alberta in his debut poetry collectionThe Response of Weeds. The collection brings to life the experience of early Black settlers in Western Canada.The Response of Weedstells ofstories rooted in the prairie landscape, including his own experience growing up as a Black Albertan. He spoke with Shelagh Rogers about writing the book.

• Bertrand Bickersteth's The Response of Weeds poetically explores the Black Canadian experience in full bloom

BertrandBickersteth is a poet, author and educatorwho was born in Sierra Leone, raised in Alberta, and has lived in the U.K. and the U.S.

The Next Chapter13:08Bertrand Bickersteth on The Response of Weeds

Poet Bertrand Bickersteth talks about his new collection The Response of Weeds, which is inspired by his experiences as a Black man in Alberta.

Burning Sugarby Cicely Belle Blain

Burning Sugaris a poetry collection that explores Black identity, history and the impact of colonizationon Black bodies.Burning Sugarilluminates how systems, society and culture are all structured to reinforce racism. But it also explores and celebrates the nuance and joy in life.

Cicely Belle Blain is a poet and activist from British Columbia. They foundedBlack Lives Matter Vancouver. CBCRadio named them one of150 Black women and non-binary people making change across Canadain 2018.Burning Sugaris their first book.

The Gospel of Breakingby Jillian Christmas

The Gospel of Breakingdraws onJillian Christmas's politics, family history and queer lineage, telling stories of love lost, friendship and community.

• Why the poetry of Jillian Christmas examines the realities of Black queerness, femininity and community

Christmas is aneducator, activist and community organizer who focuses on increasinganti-oppression initiatives in spoken word.She is the former Artistic Director of Vancouver's Verses Festival of Words.CBC Books named Christmas a 2020 writer to watch.

Black Matters by Afua Cooper& Wilfried Raussert

Poet Afua Cooper and photographerWilfried Raussertcollaborated onBlack Matters, which explores the everyday experience of what it's like to be Black in Canada. Each of Raussert's photographs has a companion poem written by Cooper.

• Afua Cooper talks about what it's like to be Black in Canada

Cooper is the poet laureate of Halifax. She's also a historian and teacher. She is the author of five books of poetry and two novels, includingThe Hanging of Angelique.

Raussert is a Canadian photographer, artist and academic who currently teaches in Germany. He has authored or edited more than 20 scholarly books.

The Next Chapter3:49David Leonard on Not One of These Poems Is About You

David Leonard on Teva Harrison's posthumous poetry collection, Not One of These Poems Is About You.

Not One of These Poems Is About Youby Teva Harrison

InNot One of These Poems Is About You, Teva Harrison ponders what it means to live withmetastatic breast cancer. From preparing to lose her husband to how the disease has influenced her identity, Harrison's poemsexplore life, love and death with striking honesty.

• Teva Harrison: How I wrote about my incurable cancer

Harrisonwas anaward-winning cartoonist known for her poignant comics about living with an incurable illness.Her 2016 graphic novelIn-Between Dayswon theKobo Emerging Writer Prize for Non-Fictionand was a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award for nonfiction. Shedied on April 27, 2019at the age of 42.

The Next Chapter11:09Canisia Lubrin on The Dyzgraphxst

Rising Canadian literary star Canisia Lubrin talks about her new poetry collection The Dyzgraphxst.

Roguelike by Mathew Henderson

Roguelikeuses video game culture and notions of repetition,escapism and mythology to dissectthemes of addiction and family history. The poems explore the humandesire to find meaning and connection in life's events.

Mathew Hendersonis a poet fromTracadie, Prince Edward Island. His first poetry collection,The Lease, was a finalist forthe 2013 Trillium Book Awardand the Gerald Lampert Memorial Award.

Body Count by Kyla Jamieson

Body Countfocuses onKyla Jamieson's experience with a concussion and the resulting aftermath. Through her poems,Jamiesonexplores physical pain, memory impairment, anxiety and depression in search of new understandings of worth and identity.

• If You Are Silent by Kyla Jamieson

Jamieson's poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in Poetry Is Dead, Room, The Vault, Guts, Peach Mag, The Maynard, Plenitude, The Account and others. In 2019, she was longlisted for theCBC Poetry PrizeforIf You Are Silent.

ZOM-FAMby Kama La Mackerel

InZOM-FAM,Kama La Mackereltells a coming-of-age story of a child growing up in the 1980s and 1990s on the island ofMauritius. This child doesn't conform to a specific gender and searches for a vocabulary and a narrative that includes and understands them.This poetry collection tells a new story of Mauritius's history, one that includes and celebrates the queer and trans stories that helped shape the island's history.

• 9 artists who are making a difference

La Mackerelis aMauritianartist, educator, poet and translator from Montreal.CBC Arts named themone of nine artists who were making a difference in Canada in 2016.They have translated several Canadian works from English into French, includingI'm Afraid of Menby Vivek Shraya.ZOM-FAMis their first book.

What Hurts Going Downby Nancy Lee

In this collection, Nancy Lee confrontshowpowerdynamics andsocially ingrained violencecontinues to inform what it means to be female.What Hurts Going Downis an exploration of girlhoodin the pre and post #MeToo eras.

• Nancy Lee looks at what it means to be a woman in her poetry collection What Hurts Going Down

Lee's first book,Dead Girls,wonthe 2003VanCity Book Prize for best book pertaining to women's issues. She is also the author of the novelThe Age.

The Dyzgraphxst by Canisia Lubrin

The Dyzgraphxstis set against the backdrop of contemporary capitalist fascism, nationalism and the climate disaster, where Jejune, the central figure,grapples with understandingtheir existence and identity.

• Why poet Canisia Lubrinembraces chaos

Canisia Lubrinis a writer, editor and teacher. Her debut poetry collectionVoodoo Hypothesiswas longlisted for the Gerald Lambert Award, the Pat Lowther Award and was a finalist for the Raymond Souster Award.

The Next Chapter16:50Randy Lundy on Field Notes for the Self

The Cree poet Randy Lundy on Field Notes for the Self, and drawing inspiration from what's right in his own backyard.

Field Notes for the Self by Randy Lundy

Field Notes for the Selfis a series that takes inspiration from the poetic structuring of Patrick Lane, John Thompsonand Charles Wright, but their closest cousins may be Arvo Prt's.This collection deals with the idea of liberation from personal and inherited trauma and memories of violence inflictedon Lundy'sIndigenous ancestors which continue to haunt him. Similar to Randy Lundy'spast works, this collection is rooted in observations of the natural world.

• How Randy Lundy's latest poetry collection reveals why the dark times make life beautiful

Lundy is a Saskatchewan-based short story writer and award-winning poet. He has published three previous books,Under the Night Sun,Gift of the HawkandBlackbird Song, which won theSaskatchewan Arts Board Poetry Award in 2019.

The Next Chapter19:17Valerie Mason-John on I Am Still Your Negro

Valerie Mason-John discusses her stirring and personal poetry collection I Am Still Your Negro: An Homage to James Baldwin.

I Am Still Your Negro by Valerie Mason-John

In 2016, the documentaryI Am Not Your Negrowas released in theaters. The doc was based on an unfinished 1979 manuscript by James Baldwin calledRemember the House, which was to be the story of America through the lens of the lives of three murdered friends.Poet, authorand public speaker Valerie Mason-Johnwatched that documentary and it helped inspire her latest book,I Am Still Your Negro:An Homage to James Baldwin. Mason-John's writing speaks truth about the scars and trauma of slavery, sexism and colonization.

• Valerie Mason-John's I Am Still Your Negro uses social justice poetry to explore why society hasn't changed

Mason-John is a poet from Vancouver.

The Sunday Edition38:29Noor Naga on why mistresses should be Muslim too

In her new novel-in-verse Washes, Prays, Noor Naga proposes there is space in CanLit between the Muslim terrorist and saint, for a Muslim mistress. Her book tells the story of a young Muslim woman in Toronto who has an affair with a married man, then faces a spiritual crisis. It's also an exploration of loneliness, longing, faith, and the role of technology in modern love.

As Far as You Know by A.F. Moritz

As Far As You Knowis divided into six sectionseach dealing with a different concept, from terrorism to friendship. This collection dives deep into the poet's mind revealing his ongoing obsessions withbeauty, impermanence, social conscience, responsibility and love.

• Poet A. F. Moritz on the under-appreciation of sparrows, poetry's 'uselessness' and more

A. F. Moritz is the author of 20 poetry collections. He has won the Griffin Poetry Prize, the BessHokin Prize and an awardin literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.He is currently the sixth poet laureate of the City of Toronto.

Washes, Praysby Noor Naga

Washes, Praysfollows Coocoo, a young immigrant woman living in Toronto who begins to question her faith after falling in love with Muhammad, a married father of two. Coocoo wonders how she can reconcile her faith with her actions and whether her relationship withMuhammad can really last.

• Noor Naga on moral decisions, millennial Muslims and modern love

Noor Nagais aCanadian-Egyptian writer.She won the 2017 Bronwen Wallace Awardfor her poemThe Mistress and the Ping.She also wonthe Disquiet Fiction Prize in 2019.Her debut novelAmerican Girl and Boy from Shobrakheitis forthcoming in fall 2021.

BittersweetbyNatasha Ramoutar

Bittersweetis a poetry collection that uses photographs, maps and language to reconstruct the history of Scarborough, Ont., the city where Indo-GuyanesepoetNatasha Ramoutargrew up. It explores the themes of identity, storyand what getshidden in the narrative that becomes the historical record.

Ramoutar is an Indo Guyanese writer who lives in Scarborough, Ont. She used to be a producer for CBC Music and currently works at the Festival of Literary Diversity (FOLD).Bittersweetis her first book.

Pluviophile by Yusuf Saadi

Pluviophileis a mix of longer sonnets and shorter meditations, all which explore humanity's relationship with divinity and how we value our bodies, our language and how we connect with each other and the greater world.

Yusuf Saadiis a poet from Montreal.Pluviophileis his first collection. He won theMalahat Review's 2016 Far Horizons Award for Poetry for the poemThe Place Words Go to Die, which is inPluviophile. CBC Books named Saadi a writer to watch in 2020.

And Yet by John Steffler

And Yetis a collection of poems that encourages readers to think about our connection to the physical, natural worldand asks us to more deeply connect with it. They also reflect on our relationship to technology and how the twotechnology and nature are often at odds in contemporary life.

• John Steffler shares two poems from his new collection And Yet

John Steffleris a poet and novelist from Toronto. He was the Canadian parliamentary laureate from 2006 to 2008. His other poetry collectionsincludeThat Night We Were Ravenous,The Wreckage of PlayandThe Grey Islands.His novel,The Afterlife of George Cartwright,was shortlisted for the 1992 Governor General's Literary Award for fiction.

I place you into the fireby Rebecca Thomas

I place you into the fireis the first collection from former Nova Scotia poet laureateRebecca Thomas.I place you into the fireexplores what it means to be a second-generation residential school survivor and is a call for Indigenous justice and empathy.

• Rebecca Thomas shares her book recommendations

Thomas is aMi'kmawwriter living in Nova Scotia. She was the Halifax poet laureate from 2016 to 2018. She is also the author of thechildren's bookI'm Finding My Talk, which is a poem responding to theiconicRita Joe poemI Lost My Talk.

Shared Universeby Paul Vermeersch

Shared Universebrings together select poemsby Paul Vermeersch fromthe past 25 years with new works. The poems in this collection are arranged by "prophecy and mythos" and contemplate the past, present and future.

• Why Paul Vermeersch thinks of poetry as a form of spell-casting and self defence

Vermeerschis a poet, artist and editor from Toronto. He currently teaches at Sheridan College. His other poetry collections includeThe Reinvention of the Human HandandSelf-Defence for the Brave and Happy.

Saturn Peachby Lily Wang

InSaturn Peach, Lily Wang explores the strangeness of our relationship to technology. These poems evoke the challenges, connection and disconnection that come from living in a world where our dependency on technology grows every day.

Wang is a poet from Toronto. She is the founder and editor of the literary magazineHalf a Grapefruit.Saturn Peachis her first poetry collection.

Word Problems by Ian Williams

Word Problemsis the latest poetry collection by Scotiabank Giller Prize-winning writer Ian Williams.The collection uses unusual tools, such as math and grammar totackleissues facing contemporary society, such as racial inequality, alongside more universal problems, like how people connect to and relate to each other.

• Ian Williams explores race, class and identity in his debut novel,Reproduction

Williams is a poet, novelist and professor from Brampton, Ont., who is currently teaching at the University of British Columbia. His debut novelReproductionwon the 2019 Scotiabank Giller Prize. He is also the author of the poetry collectionPersonals, which was a finalist for the 2013 Griffin Poetry Prize.