Don Coles Reax

I sometimes feel one of my most important jobs as an editor is to lower expectations. This is especially true with regards to reviews, which have all but evaporated for poetry books. When I started writing in the late nineties, a collection of joe-ordinary poetry could expect to get at least 5-6 reviews across the country in the dailies and lit mags. Today even one review is enough to cause a publicist to run around the office dousing themselves in champagne. But sometimes a book breaks through and reminds you (almost) of the good old days. Where We Might Have Been, Don Coles' tenth book of poetry, is one of those books. Review-wise, the collection has put up some decent numbers since it was published last October. Roundup below

"It is difficult to think of another poet whose style is so unmannered, whose tone is so engagingly true." Kenneth Sherman, The Globe and Mail.

"The climax of a singular reign as one of this country’s major lyricist." Jacob McArthur Mooney, Quill & Quire

"A restrained reflection on living...heart-piercing." Amanda Jernigan, Arc Magazine (unavailable online).

"A limitless range...a body of poetry that is highly personal but that also keeps a distance from the self." Alex Good, goodreports.net

"a powerfully hypnotic memory-weave of doubt and universal revelation." Brian Palmu