For nearly forty years George Fetherling has been the professional outsider who is nevertheless at the centre of things, a cyclone of activity in the arts generally and a supportive presence for those who labour there alongside him.

His more then fifty books, including Selected Poems and Travels by Night, form a persuasive argument for a distinct Canadian brand of humanism, rooted in our own time and place but honouring the past while acknowledging the cosmopolitan character of Canadian cities.

In George Fetherling and His Work, Linda Rogers brings together a range of critics, academics and fellow poets from across the country to discuss various aspects of his life and ideas. Readers who know Fetherling’s writing in a variety of genres will gain fresh insight from this retrospective collection. Those coming to Fetherling for the first time will find the book a useful introduction.

Featuring work from Linda Rogers, Eric Marks, George Fetherling, John Burns, WH New, George Elliott Clarke, John Clement Ball, Brian Busby, Jennifer Toews, and Rhonda Batchelor.

Click to read an excerpt from George Fetherling and His Work.

George Fetherling was born in 1949. He lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Toronto Star has called George Fetherling the poet, novelist and cultural commentator, a “legendary” figure in Canadian writing.

A refreshing take on a young woman’s journey, one that does not rely on sexual escapades to catalyze its heroine’s coming of age.

Fortune Cookie is a diary-style novella set in Montreal during the turbulent year of 1989.

The book follows Robin through her growing disenchantment with the aimless life of a twenty-something who hasn’t yet found herself in a world that is changing as fast as she is.

This subversively feminist work, aimed at young women, is told in first-person vignettes – written in the informal and often humourous voice of 24-year-old Robin. Robin’s vignettes are at times intercut with news headlines, highlighting the political and social events of the year – including Tiananmen Square, the fall of the Berlin Wall and Montreal Massacre.

Click to read an excerpt from Fortune Cookie.

Montreal-born Heather J. Wood is a freelance copywriter and creative prose writer. Her work has appeared in Kiss Machine, Artistry of Life, and Litbits, as well as in two Tightrope Books anthologies: In the Dark: Stories from the Supernatural, and IV Lounge Nights. Heather’s chapbook, Barbies, Breasts and Bathing Suits, was published by Press On! in 2007. She lives in Toronto with her husband Kurt and two cats.