Selected Poems

by Al Purdy

Alfred Wellington Purdy, (December 30, 1918 – April 21, 2000) was a 20th-century Canadian free verse poet. Purdy's writing career spanned fifty-six years. His works include thirty-nine books of poetry; a novel; two volumes of memoirs and four books of correspondence, in addition to his posthumous works. He has been called the nation's "unofficial poet laureate" and "a national poet in a way that you only find occasionally in the life of a culture.

Genres: Poetry

127 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Alfred Wellington Purdy was one of the most popular and important Canadian poets of the 20th century. Purdy's writing career spanned more than fifty years. His works include over thirty books of poetry; a novel; two volumes of memoirs and four books of correspondence. He has been called the nation's "unofficial poet laureate".

Born in Wooler, Ontario Purdy went to Albert College in Belleville, Ontario, and Trenton Collegiate Institute in Trenton, Ontario. He dropped out of school at 17 and rode the rails west to Vancouver. He served in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II. Following the war, he worked in various jobs until the 1960s, when he was finally able to support himself as a writer, editor and poet.

Honours and awards Purdy received include the Order of Canada (O.C.) in 1982, the Order of Ontario in 1987, and the Governor General's Award, in 1965 for his collection The Cariboo Horses, and again in 1986 for The Collected Poems of Al Purdy. The League of Canadian Poets gave Purdy the Voice of the Land Award, a special award created by the League to honour his unique contribution to Canada.

Al Purdy died in North Saanich, B.C., on April 21, 2000. His final collection of poetry, Beyond Remembering: The Collected Poems of Al Purdy, was released posthumously in the fall of 2000.

On May 20, 2008, a large bronze statue of Purdy was unveiled in Queen's Park in downtown Toronto.

Reviews

[Zach · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really solid collection that I am thrilled to have stumbled upon. Purdy, a true Canadian wilderness bad boy, the quintessential Canadian rustic man, an OG womanizer (surely at times seeming a slight bit of a misogynist, but, I must point out, his version of the love poem, of which there are a few in this collection, hit home with startling, if somewhat veiled, warmth and understanding)--this Purdy is one hell of a poet. "You know I'm a poet?" Drains his drink. "Oh yeah, read us a poem." Maybe some of them fall a little flat for me, which is why only 3 stars. But others in this collection really had an awesome effect. Highly recommended, at least for each to give him a try and make of his poetry, his voice and the life and perspective within it, what they will.

(And, p.s., sure, he uses the now highly offensive term "eskimo" with free reign, but notice he clearly had nothing but deep respect for the Inuit, and getting past that his Arctic poems are really quite powerful. We can't censor the past; this is the way things were. I urge readers to make a real attempt to not detract anything from Purdy's writing on that front, or on account of any other "infringements" on twenty-first century political correctness.)

[Barbara Sibbald]

A fortuitous find at a randomly encountered sale of old books: a selection of poetry and there among them Purdy's "Selected" from 1972 with an into by George Woodcock. I have sampled some of Purdy's works in anthologies and what not, and my friend's cottage is within five km of the A-frame in Prince Edward County, though it seems intrusive to visit (much as I long to). All to say, my interest was piqued, and now even more so. Varied, autobiographical and not, songs of the woods, of Cuba and Fidel Castro, of drinking to excess. Of people encountered but not known, of building that A-frame, of being married. So much to savour, to keep you lingering. These have weathered the years well and speak to me here, in the summer of 2024. Perhaps I will dare to creep by that A-frame on Roblin Lake.