The Tongues of Earth brings together the best of Mark Abley's poems from the 1980s to the present, often in revised form.

Along with the finest pieces from his three previous books, The Tongues of Earth includes about 20 new poems. Known as a writer of place, in The Tongues of Earth Abley extends his range over time and history. These poems are distinguished by their combination of clarity and grace, high intelligence and deep feeling. Poems such as "Mother and Son", "Labrador" and "Glasburyon" are the work of a literary artist with few peers in Canada. To those who have known Abley only as a prose writer, this book will come as a revelation.

Mark Abley was born in Leamington Spa, England, in 1955. From age six to twenty he lived in Lethbridge and Saskatoon. After winning a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Saskatchewan, he went to Oxford on a Rhodes scholarship and received his Master of Arts degree in English Language and Literature. He and his wife live in Montreal.

For the past seven years, Mark Abley has been a contributing editor to Macleans's and a regular writer for Saturday Night, CBC Radio's "Ideas" and The Times Literary Supplement. He has also written for the Globe and Mail, Canadian Literature, The Listener, and the New Statesman.

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