Post-Prairie: An Anthology of New Poetry

Bert Almon is a professor of English at the University of Alberta. He is
the author of Calling Texas, Earth Prime, and Mind the Gap.

Another anthology? This one has some important new writers, like Karen
Solie and Sylvia Legris, but most of the contents are no better than an
issue of a good Western Canadian literary magazine like Praire Fire or
Grain. Like a literary magazine, it provides relatively brief samples.
It does have a rationale—exploring work by the heirs of Robert
Kroetsch. Kroetsch manages to be universal and particular at the same
time, so the contents are not parochial, though there is a little too
much postmodern reflexiveness (bordering on cuteness). The most useful
feature is a preface in the form of a dialogue between the editors; it
sets out trends and problems without being dogmatic. The most
interesting claim is that the writers have already had “home”
created for them but now find that what they sing is often far from
home.