During John Thompson's all-too-brief lifetime, he completed only two volumes of poetry, At the Edge of the Chopping There Are No Secrets and Stilt Jack, but seldom has such a slim œuvre supported such a large reputation. In these remarkable poems, Thompson seeks out the darkest places of the heart and floods them with light. Confessionally raw, oblique and beautiful, Thompson's poetry — and in particular, his experiments in Stilt Jack with adapting the ghazal. A poetic form with Persian and Arabian origins — has influenced three generations of poets.

This revised and updated edition of John Thompson: Collected Poems and Translations, edited and introduced by Peter Sanger, gathers together all of Thompson's mature work, including not only his two books, but also previously uncollected poetry and Thompson's haunting translations of several of his French Canadian contemporaries and the great French poet René Char.

"what lasts, words like hooks to catch trout, love that got away"

"John Thompson searched deeply among humanity's most hidden places and brought back to us poems of remarkable beauty. The uncollected poems and translations only add to the greatness of his gift. No one who reads his life's work can go away unchanged."

"John Thompson searched deeply among humanity's most hidden places and brought back to us poems of remarkable beauty. The uncollected poems and translations only add to the greatness of his gift. No one who reads his life's work can go away unchanged."

- Patrick Lane

"what lasts, words like hooks to catch trout, love that got away"

- D.G. Jones