Above all
a poem records speech:
the way it was said
between people animals birds
a poem is an archive for our times
-Dorothy Livesay, "Anything Goes"
Dorothy Livesay, who died in 1996, is considered a pioneer of Canadian poetry; her work is infused with an extraordinary grace and power, and shaped by a prescient feminist sensibility which led her to be called "a voice of women. " She published more than 25 books of poetry and prose, as well as an autobiography in 1991. She is regarded as a major influence for many writers, not only for her poetry but for the remarkable way in which she lived her life.
Archive for Our Times is a major undertaking: a collection of poems by Dorothy Livesay never before published, discovered in her archives and published in this volume with the blessings of the Livesay estate. The collection is a compelling record of Livesay's poetic, and a revealing and intimate portrayal of the writing life. As Livesay herself wrote in the poem "Memo to My Daughter," "The record of our life--is lived in secret--inside the head. " With this in mind, Archive for Our Times is a gift: a rare opportunity to experience the feral beauty of the poetry of Dorothy Livesay.