After Exile

Overview

Presenting the most comprehensive selection of the famed Canadian writer’s verse, this anthology brings together all of Raymond Knister’s known poems—many of them in print for the first time—along with numerous letters and prose pieces. From pastoral compositions and alternate poetic versions to selected stories and essays, this collection demonstrates why the author was a truly influential personality in the modernist canon. The compilation contains works specifically chosen for their relevance to questions surrounding modernism, shedding light on a significant literary movement. A chronology, a list of anthologies featuring Knister, and an index of cited works are also included.

Reviews

“What I appreciate most about this collection is its handiness . . . . It’s a great primer on Knister (and Canadian Modernism of the 1920s–1930s), produced with concision and with an eye to being readable and utilitarian.”  —Stephen Cain, author, American Standard/Canada Dry

“An example of the type of excellent literary history that Exile Editions has made a minor specialty of.”  —George Fetherling, Vancouver Sun

“[Knister’s] work is exemplified by simple straightforward stanzas about modern life and aims at the starkness of absolute truth. ”  —Anne Burke, editor, Prairie Journal

Author Biography

Raymond Knister was a poet, a writer, a critic, and a journalist. He authored First Day of Spring, My Star Predominant, There Was a Mr. Cristi, White Narcissus, and Windfalls for Cider. He was the first Canadian writer to be published in Parisian magazines alongside personalities such as Ernest Hemingway and James Joyce. Gregory Betts is an assistant professor at Brock University, where he teaches Canadian and avant-garde literature. He is the editor of After Exile: A Raymond Knister Poetry Reader, the acting editor of PRECIPICe literary magazine, and the author of Haikube and If Language. He lives in St. Catherines, Ontario.