Barbaric Vast & Wild (Black Widow Press), one of the many books edited by Jerome Rothenberg and John Bloomberg-Rissman, is a fascinating and huge compilation of poetry, from the origins of language and art to now. Some of my favourite poems were written by people who were deemed insane and lived their lives in asylums. This is a book that I pick up to read over and over again.

The Good Dark (Tupelo Press), written by Annie Guthrie is written very simply about the many views of the dark. The language and layout of the poems are sparse, which contributes to the power of the poems. She takes “the good dark” into the mystical darkness of oneself.

Anne Gorrick’s book, A’s Visuality (BlazeVox Books), is a series of poems about art, and it immerses the reader in the writer’s vision as poet and painter. It is a challenging read, and I would especially recommend it to someone who is both poet and painter.