Spaces in Between (The): Selected Poems, 1965-2001

Spring 2003

Paperback 176 pages

Poetry

The Spaces in Between is a retrospective selection of poems by Governor General's Award-winning poet Stephen Scobie. Arranged in chronological order from 1965 right up to the end of 2001, the poems in this collection concentrate on the traditional lyric form, with stand-alone short poems. The book includes representative selections from all of Scobie's collections of lyric poems, as well as a significant number of poems that have not been published or have appeared only in limited distribution.

Scobie's poetry has always been elegiac: looking at a past, both personal and national, which is already lost, but which continues to inform his life. Scotland always hovers in the background of foreground Canada. The presence of dead friends and lovers haunts this book, never more so than in the concluding series of elegies for Scobie's late wife Maureen. The Spaces in Between presents a superb picture of Scobie's poetic life over thirty-five years, and is an important collection of work from a major Canadian poet.