Her ascent to the top of the literary world is well known. Now you can enjoy the great works of this formidable writer in The Poetry of Gwendolyn MacEwen, Volume Two: The Later Years. Readers will gain a solid understanding of MacEwen's works, as these poems represent her strongest poetic voice, developed from years of writing. Her unique voice is both playful and melancholy, all the while being a daring addition to her genre. This book is a great introduction to the works of MacEwen.

Her poetry is both groundbreaking and unforgettable. Now you can enjoy the powerful first works of this poet in The Poetry of Gwendolyn MacEwen, Volume One: The Early Years. These poems show the beginnings of a poetic style that inspired other poets and amazed readers for years. Her poetic voice is in turns playful, melancholy and daring; this is a must-read for all fans of MacEwen and poetry lovers that want an introduction to this important writer.

Margaret Atwood presents a selection of poetry by Gwendolyn MacEwen, who first met Atwood in a Toronto coffee shop. MacEwen's poetry is by turns playful, extravagant, melancholy, daring and profound. Her work takes its inspiration from subjects as hard-hitting as the Hiroshima bombing and as humble as the peanut butter sandwich. It springs from a deep involvement with self and world.

The T.E. Lawrence Poems is Gwendolyn MacEwen's most integrated, complete and respected work. It is now recognized as her signature poetic achievement."In 1962, I was staying in a hotel in Tiberias, Israel; the tall, white-haired proprietor invited me downstairs one evening and served me syrupy tea and a plate of fruit. He showed me a series of old sepiatone photographs which lined the walls - photographs of blurred riders on camels riding to the left into some uncharted desert just beyond the door. Some of them were signed.'It's Lawrence isn't it?' I asked, walking up to one.'Yes, ' said my host, offering me a huge section of an orange. 'I rode with him once a long time ago. I see you always carry a pen and paper to write things down. I thought you'd be interested; I thought you'd like to know.'These poems were written some twenty years later."

The Insomniac Library is proud to reissue Gwendolyn MacEwen's second novel, more than thirty years after its original appearance in 1971. The novel bears important resemblances to MacEwen's earlier Julian the Magician. Writing to poet Al Purdy, MacEwen confessed she wanted her second novel to be ''bulky, readable, and not overly mysterious.'' Unlike in Julian, however, here MacEwen sets out to write a deeply serious novel that also functions as entertaining historical fiction. The novel's hero is Akhenaton, Pharaoh of Egypt's Eighteenth Dynasty, who was the first ruler to introduce the idea of monotheism. As Rosemary Sullivan remarks in her biography of MacEwen, he was, like Julian, ''one more human being filled with the god-lust.'' Akhenaton's single-mindedness in his quest for his own brand of reason is a powerfully paradoxical distillation of the artistic temperament: originality, fertility and beauty set against death and despair and an inability to love.

"MacEwen described what she set out to achieve as a "sort of powerful poetic mad half-abandoned prose somewhere between [Kenneth] Patchen and Virginia Woolf." Set in a medieval past that has distinctly modern overtones, the novel is about Julian, a young man who believes he is Christ. Wandering the countryside in a horse-drawn wagon, Julian learns "to suspend logic like a whale on a thread." He becomes a master of alchemy, performing "miracles" like curing the mad and changing water into wine. When his rapt audiences begin to lose faith, Julian must pay with his life. MacEwen skillfully implies a relationship between alchemy, miracles and belief, and the art forms she is engaged in herself, poetry and prose. What is the price the writer-magician must pay to engender belief in her audience? Is something true merely because we believe it? With an afterword by the author's sister."--Jacket

A splendidly illustrated collection of poems inspired by young children that address common themes such as having a hard day at school, feeling shy or being a newcomer. The poems in Climbing Shadows were inspired by a class of kindergarten children whom poet and playwright Shannon Bramer came to know over the course of a school year. She set out to write a poem for each child, sharing her love of poetry with them, and made an anthology of the poems for Valentine’s Day. This original collection reflects the children’s joys and sorrows, worries and fears, moods and sense of humor. Some poems address common themes such as having a hard day at school, feeling shy or being a newcomer, while others explore subjects of fascination — bats, spiders, skeletons, octopuses, polka dots, racing cars and birthday parties. Evident throughout the book is a love of words and language and the idea that there are all kinds of poems and that they are for everyone — to read or write. Cindy Derby’s dreamy watercolor illustrations gently complement each poem. Beautiful, thoughtful, sensitive and funny, this is an exceptional collection. Key Text Features illustrations table of contents author’s note Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.1 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.4 Ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.7 With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear (e.g., what moment in a story an illustration depicts). CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.4 Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.4 Describe how words and phrases (e.g., regular beats, alliteration, rhymes, repeated lines) supply rhythm and meaning in a story, poem, or song.

Elements of history and the poems explore the many complexities of a lifetime defined by hardship and intense emotion that was influenced by the invasion of Poland, World War II, refuge, displacement, and loss.