Patrick Lane is one of Canada's pre-eminent poets, winner of numerous awards, including the Governor General's Award for Poetry, the Canadian Authors Association Award, the Lieutenant Governor's Award for Literary Excellence and three National Magazine Awards. His distinguished career spans forty-five years and twenty-four volumes of poetry as well as award-winning books of fiction and non-fiction. This is the only volume to cover the breadth of Lane's career and gather up the finest of his work--from early poems penned during his literary beginnings to new poems written at the height of his career. Fierce, piercing, and unflinchingly honest, Lane explores the darker side of human nature and desire even as he looks to the future with a hopeful eye, for "even among words/there are bright seeds hidden . . ." This striking volume is required reading, not only for fans of Patrick Lane's work, but for poetry lovers and Canadian literature enthusiasts everywhere.