Collected Poems of Raymond Souster (6 volumes)

Raymond Souster

Published by Oberon Press, 1980

About this Item

This six volume set, including five volumes of poetry and a sixth, which is a bibliography, collects together the poetry of Canadian writer Raymond Souster. Raymond Souster is one of the key figures of Canadian poetry. A life-long resident of Toronto, he has been described as the most beloved poet of that city. He published over fifty works of his own poetry. Volume one is devoted to the examples of his early poetry (1940-1955) that he wished to include, and many of which he revised for their inclusion in this collection. Volume two (1955-1962) covers the period right before he won the Governor General's Award for poetry. In particular it includes many of the poems from The Colour of the Times, which was one of the first volumes for which he received significant critical acclaim. Also included are over fifty poems that had been out of print for years. Volume three (1962-1974) includes the rest of the poems from The Colour of the Times, for which he won the Governor Generals Award for poetry which were not included in Volume two. It also includes other poems from volumes of his work that have become increasingly rare after falling out of print. Volume four covers the period from 1974-1977, and includes the last 84 poems from his work Change-Up as well as the poems from Extra Innings. Volume five (1977-1983) includes all of the poems that were in Hanging In and Going the Distance, which were written when he was in his late fifties. These included a greater focus on longer narrative poems, which were something of a departure for Souster. The final volume is a descriptive bibliography of Souster's work as well as works about Souster gathered together by Bruce Whiteman. This set is A, namely the first, of the twenty-six sets of the collection published. Each volume has a poem written by Souster on the front fly leaf, followed by his signature. The back fly of each volume has a hand written note indicating that this set is A, and the date, in what also appears to be Souster's hand. There is also a written sheet describing the collection, with a pencil note on the bottom, and earlier sellers' prices.

Seller Inventory # 338

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Collected Poems of Raymond Souster (6 volumes)
• Publisher: Oberon Press
• Publication Date: 1980
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Fine
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)