Above all
a poem records speech:
the way it was said
between people animals birds
a poem is an archive for our times
-Dorothy Livesay, "Anything Goes"
Dorothy Livesay, who died in 1996, is considered a pioneer of Canadian poetry; her work is infused with an extraordinary grace and power, and shaped by a prescient feminist sensibility which led her to be called "a voice of women." She published more than 25 books of poetry and prose, as well as an autobiography in 1991. She is regarded as a major influence for many writers, not only for her poetry but for the remarkable way in which she lived her life.
Archive for Our Times is a major undertaking: a collection of poems by Dorothy Livesay never before published, discovered in her archives and published in this volume with the blessings of the Livesay estate. The collection is a compelling record of Livesay's poetic, and a revealing and intimate portrayal of the writing life. As Livesay herself wrote in the poem "Memo to My Daughter," "The record of our life--is lived in secret--inside the head." With this in mind, Archive for Our Times is a gift: a rare opportunity to experience the feral beauty of the poetry of Dorothy Livesay.