Best Canadian Poetry 2025

by Aislinn Hunter (Editor)

Selected by editor Aislinn Hunter, the 2025 edition of Best Canadian Poetry showcases the best Canadian poetry writing published in 2023.



Hollie Adams • George Amabile • Erin Bedford • Billy-Ray Belcourt • Bertrand Bickersteth • Elisabeth Blair • Ronna Bloom • Alison Braid-Fernandez • Robert Bringhurst • Emily Cann • Anne Carson • Molly Cross-Blanchard • Lorna Crozier • Kayla Czaga • Evelyna Ekoko-Kay • Kate Genevieve • Susan Gillis • Sue Goyette • Catherine Graham • Henry Heavyshield • Gerald Hill • Alexander Hollenberg • Kim June Johnson • Eve Joseph • Evelyn Lau • Y. S. Lee • D. A. Lockhart • Fareh Malik • David Martin • Domenica Martinello • Cassidy McFadzean • Carmelita McGrath • Erín Moure • Tolu Oloruntoba • Catherine Owen • Molly Peacock • Miranda Pearson • Pauline Peters • Amanda Proctor • Shannon Quinn • Armand Garnet Ruffo • Anne Simpson • Carolyn Smart • Karen Solie • Catherine St. Denis • Owen Torrey • Michael Trussler • Sara Truuvert • Rob Winger • Jaeyun Yoo

Genres: Poetry, Anthologies, Canada

184 pages, Paperback

Published November 12, 2024

About the author

Aislinn Hunter is the author of six books: two books of poetry, three books of fiction and a book of lyric essays. She is a contributing editor at Arc Magazine and has contributed to numerous anthologies. She has a BFA in The History of Art and in Creative Writing from the University of Victoria, an MFA from The University of British Columbia, an MSc in Writing and Cultural Politics from The University of Edinburgh and is currently finishing a PhD in English Literature at Edinburgh. She teaches Creative Writing part-time at Kwantlen Polytechnic University and lives in Vancouver with her husband Glenn and two Border collies.

Reviews

[Karen Ocana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great read, thanks to Aislinn Hunter, guest editor, and Anita Lahey, series editor.
This was my first time reading a Best Canadian Poetry collection, oh my.
A great recommendation from Sue Macleod!
This year I published my first poetry chapbook.
Knowing that every year there is a guest editor seeking out the best poetry published that year in Canada's many poetry journals (and English language poetry journals in general, I believe? Or perhaps only Canadian poetry journals) is incentive to get out there and publish!
And, judging this book by what's between the covers, this was a good year for Canadian poetry.
My favourites in no particular order were by George Amabila (Coming of Age on my 84th birthday), Catherine Owen (Fall), Anne Carson (Funny You Should Ask), Kim June Johnson (I don't know what to do about the world), Robert Bringhurst (Life Poem), Armand Garnett Ruffo (Resting II), Erin Moure (The straying of all translation: a Phrase Archive), sue goyette (surprise: an armoire, in a sunny spot, I'm hoping) and Carmelita McGrath (Visit, July 25, 2020). Plus a few others! Quite a few others!
I ordered my copy specially at Argo Bookshop.
Certainly worth whatever I paid for it. $23.95 to be precise.

[Deborah Sowery-Quinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some amazing poetry in this collection. Makes me wanna sharpen my pencil.