Veiled Countries/Lives are the two discrete series of poems (published in French in 1964) which form the complete poetic oeuvre of Marie-Claire Blais, the prize-winning fiction writer. This is the first time they have appeared in English.

Born in 1939 in Québec, Marie-Claire Blais continues to dominate the literary landscape. Having published her first novel at the age of twenty, she has gone on to publish twenty novels to date in France and Quebec—all of which have been translated into English—as well as five plays and several collections of poetry. All of her writings have met with international acclaim.Talon has published her American Notebooks, a fascinating autobiographical account of the intellectual flowering of a great writer.Winner of the Prix Médicis, the Prix Belgo-Canadien, the Prix France-Québec, and many others, Blais continues to devote herself to work that is proud and exacting. Most recently, she has been invited, as one of the very few foreigners allowed, to join Belgium’s Academy of French Language and Literature.

Marie-Claire Blais' profile page

Michael Harris' most recent book of poems, Circus (2010) was nominated for the Governor General's Literary Award for Poetry. He is a two-time winner of the CBC Literary Competition, and has translated the complete poetry of Marie-Claire Blais (Veiled Countries\ Lives). He lives in Montreal, Quebec, where runs Montreal Books, a rare and used Internet bookshop. During his tenure as editor of Signal Editions, Michael Harris saw through to publication some 60 titles. The present volume is Signal's 100th book.

Michael Harris' profile page