The poems on Wind and Root emerge from two powerful and sometimes contradictory forces in the poet's life: one, the rural traditions, landscapes and seascapes of his native province, and the other, a profound desire to move and see beyond those boundaries. Brent MacLaine's work displays a range of poetical responses—lyrical, tragic, dramatic, realistic, ironic, humourous—from an imagination that swings between the experiences of there and away—of wind—and the experiences of here and home—of root.

Brent MacLaine's teaching career has taken him to universities in Vancouver, Edmonton, and Singapore. Since 1991, he has been a professor of English at the University of Prince Edward Island, where he has received the prestigious 3M Award for excellence in teaching. MacLaine is the author of one previous collection of poetry, the highly acclaimed Wind and Root (2000, Vehicule Press). His poems have also appeared in numerous literary journals, including The Fiddlehead, The Antigonish Review, The Windsor Review, Matrix and The Cormorant, and in anthologies such as Landmarks: An Anthology of New Atlantic Poetry of the Land and Coastlines: The Poetry of Atlantic Canada. MacLaine's ancestors came to Rice Point, Prince Edward Island, in 1838. Today he lives on a corner of the family farm there, overlooking the Northumberland Strait.

Brent MacLaine's profile page

"Maclaine's work is self-consciously local, unpretentious, and accessible-by turns solemn and witty."
-Geoffrey Cook, Books in Canada
"MacLaine has a genially capacious mind and a reliable ear, and is quite interested in the world outside Brent MacLaine. [...] He is as technically proficient as a poet needs to be, but his style remains quite lucid, unmarred by verbal gamesmanship. These poems manage to get off the ground without a lot of noisy flapping."
-Bruce Taylor, Montréal Gazette
"In Wind and Root, his first book of poetry, Brent MacLaine culls meaning through plot and happen-stance, a poet who ladles out stories like soup you can eat with a fork. His poems, chock-full with gritty details of small-town life, are spiced with cynicism and a generous dash of humility." -Kelly Marie Redcliffe, Atlantic Books Today, No. 31