The selected poems in Desire Never Leaves span Tim Lilburn's career, demonstrating the evolution of a unique and careful thinker as he takes his place among the nation's premier writers. This edition of his poetry untangles many of the strands running through his works, providing insight into a poetic world that is both spectacular and humbling.

The introduction by Alison Calder situates Lilburn's writing in an alternate tradition of prairie poetry that relies less on the vernacular and more on philosophy and meditation. Examining Lilburn's antecedents in Christian...