Best Canadian Essays and Poetry 2024 from Biblioasis

With 2024 underway, the jarring and sometimes harrying experiences of the last few years begin to recede in the distance, and we look forward to a continued return to normalcy. This space of time allows us to look back and consider how we were impacted during the pandemic and its periods of subsequent lockdowns with new eyes. For many of us, and maybe for writers in particular, these periods of enforced seclusion were catalysts for reflection on the nature of our relationships, on the simple pleasures and experiences possible in a quietened world with the rush and bustle removed. They allowed for a connection or even a confrontation with the existential questions and explorations of ourselves on a deeply personal level.

Representative of the sentiments and experiences of Canadians from all walks of life, the curated works in these two volumes of Biblioasis’s 2024 Best Canadian series: Best Canadian Essays 2024 and Best Canadian Poetry 2024 provide a window into the lives of Canadian writers, presenting their struggles, their reflections of their personal histories, and their often unexpected moments of joy, connection, anger, and loss. Reading this year’s selection of essays and poetry, I can appreciate what a daunting task it must have been for Marcello Di Cintio and Bardia Sinaee to read through so many Canadian publications in search of Canada’s best essays and poetry.

Best Canadian Essays 2024:

In his introduction, Guest editor Marcello Di Cintio remarks, “The best essays bring you into a world you know nothing about and, occasionally, into worlds you feel grateful for having never known.” From the feral peacock occupation of a small town to drama experienced by a third-generation mover from Montreal to sobering reflections on anti-Asian racism as experienced as a result of the pandemic, to the devastating loss of the ill-fated Ukrainian flight and the ensuing mission of one man to seek justice for his wife and daughter, the result is a thought-provoking collection of essays that present diverse perspectives and very human experiences that will resonate with readers across the country.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Biblioasis (Nov. 14 2023)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1771965649
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1771965644

Best Canadian Poetry 2024:

In setting out his rationale for this year’s poetry selection, guest editor Bardia Sinaee presents a mediation on the nature of poetry and the increasing influence of Artificial Intelligence on writing. Given this influence, the counterbalance to AI’s linguistic (in)abilities may be found in Sinaee’s rationale for poetry: “To me, this is what poems are for: making things real.” He postulates that poetry will not disappear because AI can now write its own verse, not because AI’s attempts thus far are pedestrian and infantile, but because the poet has the need to express through writing and finds joy in the composition of lines and images. No matter AI’s word choice or ability to address a given theme, there is a distinct lack of the “real” that can only be conveyed by human writers. “Animated by the desire, joy, wonder, humour, fear, grief, and doubt that make us real, these poems are our best expressions of humanity in a year of change…”

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Biblioasis (Nov. 14 2023)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 196 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1771965681
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1771965682

A testament to the importance of literature in Canada, with both books pulling from more than fifty literary anthologies, quarterlies, collections, magazines, reviews, and newspapers, Canada’s world of literature, often eclipsed by other markets, shows in the sheer number of publications dedicated to Canadian writers alone, that it is a powerful body that celebrates the creative and literary spirit of Canadians from coast to coast to coast. Both Best Canadian Essays 2024 and Best Canadian Poetry 2024 recognize not only 2022’s best authors but also the publications that give them voice.

Christina Barber

Christina Barber is a writer and educator who lives in Vancouver. An avid reader, she shares her passion for Canadian history and literature through her reviews on Instagram @cb_reads_reviews. She has most recently been committed to writing and staging formally innovative single and multi-act plays.