Selected Poems 1: 1965-1975

Gathered from Margaret Atwood’s work over the decade of 1965–1975, Selected Poems 1 is a lasting collection from one of our most celebrated contemporary writers.

Margaret Atwood’s early poetry garnered widespread critical recognition and helped establish her reputation as one of the most provocative modern literary talents. Selected Poems 1 draws from six volumes published early in Atwood’s career: The Circle Game (1966), which received the Governor General’s Award; The Animals in That Country (1968); Procedures for Underground (1970); The Journals of Susanna Moodie (1970); Power Politics (1971); and You Are Happy (1974). In these early poems, Atwood considers the space between the cruelties of civilization and the wonders of nature, the dissonance of Canadian identity, and the line where beauty becomes sinister. With poems that are “glistening with terse, bright images, untentative, closing like a vise” (New York Times), this is an essential collection to be treasured for years to come.

“Atwood’s poems are short, glistening with terse, bright images, untentative, closing like a vise. . . . A plain, explicit poetry, perfectly sure of itself.”  - New York Times

"Atwood's powers of observation are disconcertingly acute, combining an ear for the vernacular with an eye for the jugular." - Time

"A large and remarkable writer. Her concerns are nowhere petty." - Marge Piercy