Whether he writes of empathizing with late-night bicycle thieves, of untangling difficult histories and uncertain futures, or of horsing around with his grandsons, John Terpstra’s poetry recounts life’s colloquial essence with the ease and economy of a conversation between long-time neighbours, drawing the reader in close. This collection also includes the essay “Writing by Feel,” a reflection on forty years of writing.

John Terpstra has published many books and chapbooks of poetry, the most recent of which, Disarmament, was shortlisted for the Governor General’s Literary Award in 2004. A retrospective of his work, Two or Three Guitars: Selected Poems, was published in 2006. Terpstra has also published three prose projects: Falling Into Place, a creative investigation of a giant glacial sandbar which lies beneath one of Canada’s busiest transportation corridors; The Boys, or, Waiting for the Electrician’s Daughter, the story of his wife’s three brothers, who lived with muscular dystrophy until their early twenties; and Skin Boat: Acts of Faith and Other Navigations, a frank reflection on faith and church in a secular era. He lives in Hamilton, Ontario.

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