Poetry. Literary Nonfiction. Finalist for the City of Vancouver Book Award. THE REVOLVING CITY: 51 POEMS AND THE STORIES BEHIND THEM is a vibrant and diverse collection from a who's who of the west coast poetry scene. The poems assembled here range from the lyric to the experimental and address the theme of disconnection in an urban environment from a variety of positions, concerns, and cultural perspectives. The collection also includes short reflections on the poems, written by the poets themselves, providing readers with an intimate insight into the inspiration and meaning behind the poems. THE REVOLVING CITY anthology evolved out of the Lunch Poems reading series, a stimulating exchange of poetic ideas and cadence held the third Wednesday of every month in public space at Simon Fraser University's Vancouver campus. THE REVOLVING CITY seeks to build community, extend poetry to new audiences, and reflect the rich diversity of the poetry scene both local and distant. Edited by much- lauded writer and director of the Writer's Studio, Wayde Compton, and award-winning poet Renee Sarojini Saklikar.

"In these fiercely competitive and egotistical times, what a relief when established poets stand alongside and support emerging ones. The poems--passionate, compassionate and critical at once, investigating, as Meredith Quartermain puts it, 'the physical, the historical, the cultural and the linguistic grounds' of the city--are deepened by each poet's reflection on their own work. Here are the cultural voices of Canada's today and tomorrow. Listen. You will be hearing more."--Kate Braid, author of Turning Left to the Ladies and Rough Grounds Revisited

"Plato said poets are the people least likely to be able to say anything enlightening about the craft. He was a curmudge