The career of Eli Mandel (1922-1992) was one of the most prolific and distinguished in all of Canadian literature, yet in recent years his work has gone unsung compared with that of such peers as Margaret Atwood, Leonard Cohen, Robert Kroetsch, Irving Layton, and P.K. Page. Though he was a critic, anthologist, and editor of national prominence, Mandel's legacy resides most securely in his poetry, which earned many accolades.

From Room to Room: The Poetry of Eli Mandel presents thirty-five of Mandel's best poems written over four decades, from the 1950s to the 1980s. The...