In tight, compact words that resemble an unravelling DNA code of life, poet Robert Flanagan comtemplates mortality in his latest collection. Flanagan's poetry is essential, incantatory, and almost shamanistic in its ability to cast spells that transport the reader to invaluable inner worlds.

Robert Flanagan’s early poetry was published by the House of Anansi Press: Canada First (1969), Body (1970), andIncisions (1972), followed by Gravity with Press Porcepic (1978), and On the Ground with Black Moss Press (1990). In 2000, Flanagan released The Great Light Cage with Guernica Editions. He has since published Strong Conviction, An Ayako Ellen Anderson Book in limited editions (2005), and A PLACE IN THE WORLD with Guernica in 2009. Robert Flanagan’s literary papers were acquired by The National Library in 1999. He currently lives in Toronto.

Robert Flanagan's profile page

Flanagan's verse oscillates between the breathless and the unsayable — yet somehow manages to communicate its intentions nevertheless. It is poetry that should not have been possible but was forced into birth by sometimes skillful, sometimes ruthless, always subtle Caesarean incisions. — Andreas Schroeder, Vancouver Province (Body)