Al Purdy's down-to-earth voice populates thirty-three books, including The Cariboo Horses (1965), North of Summer (1967), Sex & Death (1973), and Piling Blood (1984). The two major collections of his work are The Collected Poems of Al Purdy (1986) and Beyond Remembering: The Collected Poems of Al Purdy (2000). Purdy died in Sidney, BC, on April 21, 2000.Robert Budde teaches creative writing and critical theory at the University of Northern British Columbia in Prince George. He has published four books (two poetry - Catch as Catch and traffick, and two novels - Misshapen and, most recently, The Dying Poem). He maintains two online literary journals at and .Russell Morton Brown is a professor in the department of English at the University of Toronto. An editor for the University of Toronto Quarterly, the editor of The Collected Poems of Al Purdy, and co-editor with Donna Bennett of the New Anthology of Canadian Literature in English, he was also Editorial Director of Poetry at McClelland and Stewart for five years.

``The quest for a wider audience for poetry may be quixotic, but this series makes a serious attempt to present attractive, affordable selections that speak to contemporary interests and topics that might engage a younger generation of readers. Yet it does not condescend, preferring to provide substantial and sophisticated poets to these new readers. At the very least, these slim volumes will make very useful introductory teaching texts in post-secondary classrooms because they whet the appetite without overwhelming.'' -- Paul Milton -- Canadian Literature, 193, Summer 2007, 201003

• The More Easily Kept Illusions: The Poetry of Al Purdy, selected with an introduction by Robert BuddeForeword Neil BesnerBiographical NoteIntroduction Robert BuddeMind Process re a FaucetRemains of an Indian VillageWinter WalkingHockey PlayersHome-Made BeerEskimo GraveyardTrees at the Arctic CircleTent RingsWhen I Sat Down to Play the PianoAt the Quinte HotelLove at Roblin LakeInterruptionWilderness GothicLament for the DorsetsJoint AccountDepression in Namu, BCEastbound from VancouverThe Horseman of AgawaFlat Tire in the DesertInside the MillDeprivationsAlive or NotRodeoOn Realizing He Has Written Some Bad PoemsAfter RainThe NurselogA Typical Day in WinnipegIn the Early CretaceousPurely Internal MusicOrchestraRed LeavesOrchestraEarle Birney in HospitalUntitledFor Her in SunlightAfterword: As the dream holds the real Russell Morton BrownAcknowledgements

Al Purdy's down-to-earth voice populates thirty-three books, including The Cariboo Horses (1965), North of Summer (1967), Sex & Death (1973), and Piling Blood (1984). The two major collections of his work are The Collected Poems of Al Purdy (1986) and Beyond Remembering: The Collected Poems of Al Purdy (2000). Purdy died in Sidney, BC, on April 21, 2000.Robert Budde teaches creative writing and critical theory at the University of Northern British Columbia in Prince George. He has published four books (two poetry - Catch as Catch and traffick, and two novels - Misshapen and, most recently, The Dying Poem). He maintains two online literary journals at and .Russell Morton Brown is a professor in the department of English at the University of Toronto. An editor for the University of Toronto Quarterly, the editor of The Collected Poems of Al Purdy, and co-editor with Donna Bennett of the New Anthology of Canadian Literature in English, he was also Editorial Director of Poetry at McClelland and Stewart for five years.

``The quest for a wider audience for poetry may be quixotic, but this series makes a serious attempt to present attractive, affordable selections that speak to contemporary interests and topics that might engage a younger generation of readers. Yet it does not condescend, preferring to provide substantial and sophisticated poets to these new readers. At the very least, these slim volumes will make very useful introductory teaching texts in post-secondary classrooms because they whet the appetite without overwhelming.'' -- Paul Milton -- Canadian Literature, 193, Summer 2007, 201003

• The More Easily Kept Illusions: The Poetry of Al Purdy, selected with an introduction by Robert BuddeForeword Neil BesnerBiographical NoteIntroduction Robert BuddeMind Process re a FaucetRemains of an Indian VillageWinter WalkingHockey PlayersHome-Made BeerEskimo GraveyardTrees at the Arctic CircleTent RingsWhen I Sat Down to Play the PianoAt the Quinte HotelLove at Roblin LakeInterruptionWilderness GothicLament for the DorsetsJoint AccountDepression in Namu, BCEastbound from VancouverThe Horseman of AgawaFlat Tire in the DesertInside the MillDeprivationsAlive or NotRodeoOn Realizing He Has Written Some Bad PoemsAfter RainThe NurselogA Typical Day in WinnipegIn the Early CretaceousPurely Internal MusicOrchestraRed LeavesOrchestraEarle Birney in HospitalUntitledFor Her in SunlightAfterword: As the dream holds the real Russell Morton BrownAcknowledgements