Author Description

Edge collects thirty years of essays, reviews, and interviews by celebrated Newfoundland poet Mary Dalton. Driven by a need to reconfigure how the margin is seen in literature, culture and politics, Dalton explores the work of writers and artists who occupy an imaginative threshold or edge: from the dark visions of Samuel Beckett to the dialogue novels of I. Compton-Burnett, from the apocalyptic Boatman paintings of fellow artist Gerald Squires to the vernacular poetry of John Steffler. Showcasing a use of language as vivid, precise, and supple as that in Dalton's award-winning poetry, Edge reflects the range of a major Canadian poet's interests and influences and celebrates what she calls "people being grounded in their place, people knowing where they were, who they were, having a sense of connection to the land."