Climate and the Affections

James Deahl is a partner in Mekler & Deahl, Publishers, and the author
of Under the Watchful Eye: Poetry and Discourse, Poetry Markets for
Canadians, and Mix Six.

More a collection of philosophical texts than a book of poems, Climate
and the Affections makes major demands on its readers. For those who are
willing to work as hard at the reading as Elsted worked at the writing,
the rewards can be great. The poems feature satisfying—and often
startling—imagery and bountiful, musical language that recalls the
work of the Metaphysical Poets.

Elsted has been hiding out at the margins of CanLit for the past 25
years, publishing a slim chapbook here and a broadside or two there.
This volume should give him the recognition he deserves among mainstream
readers who are up to the challenge.