Al Purdy's Necropsy of Love is a stunning audio collection of poems written and read by Canada's greatest lyric poet.

When Purdy passed away in April, 2000 he left behind not only the huge gift of his writing, but literally of his own voice captured on this wonderful recording. The poems are interspersed with fascinating interview segments, making Necropsy of Love a necessary addition to any library of Canadian literature.

Old fans will appreciate the memory of the man and his work, while for the uninitiated this CD recording serves as an excellent introduction to one of our finest poets.

Al Purdy’s down-to-earth voice populates thirty-three books, including The Cariboo Horses (1965), North of Summer (1967), Sex & Death (1973), and Piling Blood (1984). The two major collections of his work are The Collected Poems of Al Purdy (1986) and Beyond Remembering: The Collected Poems of Al Purdy (2000). Purdy died in Sidney, BC, on April 21, 2000.

Robert Budde teaches creative writing and critical theory at the University of Northern British Columbia in Prince George. He has published four books (two poetry—Catch as Catch and traffick, and two novels—Misshapen and, most recently, The Dying Poem). He maintains two online literary journals at and .

Russell Morton Brown is a professor in the department of English at the University of Toronto. An editor for the University of Toronto Quarterly, the editor of The Collected Poems of Al Purdy, and co-editor with Donna Bennett of the New Anthology of Canadian Literature in English, he was also Editorial Director of Poetry at McClelland and Stewart for five years.

Al Purdy's profile page

“ The disc's highlights include some of the finest lyric poems written in the annals of modern Canadian literature.”

—Books in Canada