Gary Hyland is a Saskatchewan writer, teacher, cultural activist, consultant and editor who has published two chapbooks and six full-length books of poetry -- Just Off Main, Street of Dreams, After Atlantis, White Crane Spreads Wings, The Work of Snow and Hands Reaching in Water. He has co-edited the humour anthologies 100% Cracked Wheat, and 200% Cracked Wheat and the poetry collections Number One Northern and A Sudden Radiance.In 'The Love of Mirrors', Gary Hyland blends the most evocative work from his six prior collections with fourteen previously unpublished poems, to reveal an astonishing range of human experience. Calling upon a lifetime of subtle observation, Hyland uses a range of styles and techniques to take his reader on a journey from the playful innocence of childhood, through the bitter compromise of mid-life, to ultimately discover peace in the simple joys of daily life beneath a lengthening shadow of mortality. The resulting collection possesses a narrative voice strong enough to draw the reader inexorably along a path full of the unexpected twists that comprise a life. Hyland is not content to limit himself to the internal personal struggle, but also addresses the superficial glitter and lingering ambivalence of our post-9/11 society. Not shying away from the hollow pain of random violence and abuse, he creates a cast of vivid characters that challenge readers to slip beneath their skins and experience their haunting stories directly. In the end, the reader will possess the feeling of having traveled far and experienced much on a route that, even when it brushes the darkest acts, ultimately leads to a haven where even the unworthy can rise above their circumstances and the feel the transcendence of hope."[Gary Hyland's poetry is]...required reading for those who insist contemporary Canadian poetry is boring, unreadable, esoteric."" - Sheila Robertson, Saskatoon StarPhoenix
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