A Little Anthology of Canadian Poets

Ralph Gustafson (1909-1950) was a Canadian poet and author who wrote more than two dozen books of poetry, as well as a book of short stories, and a collection of essays. He was awarded the Governor-General's Award for Poetry in 1974 for his book Fire on Stone, and was a member of the Order of Canada. He has the distinction of having compiled the first anthology of Canadian poetry which was published by Penguin in 1942.

A Little Anthology of Canadian Poets was intended to supplement the Penguin anthology, and in particular was to bring notable Canadian poets to the attention of the American public. It was part of the Poets of the Year series, which was published by a different press every year in two versions, pamphlet and bound. This edition is one of the pamphlet versions. It includes poems by E.J. Pratt, W.W.E. Ross, F.R. Scott, Robert Finch, L.A. MacKay, A.J.M. Smith, Earle Birney, A.M. Klein, Ralph Gustafson, Leo Kennedy, Patrick Anderson, P.K. Page, Ronald Hambleton, Kay Smith, and Raymond Souster.

This volume is also of interest with respect to its publisher. It was published by New Directions Publishing, founded by James Laughlin (1914-1917) in 1936 while he was a student at Harvard. Laughlin was a key figure in American publishing, and amongst other accomplishments, was Vladimir Nabokov's first American publisher. He also published works by other important authors, including Tennessee Williams, Ezra Pound, and Dylan Thomas and New Directions Publishing was called one of "the most influential book companies in the United States" by the New York Times.

This edition may be described as being in Very Good condition. It is a softcover, with card covers and paper wraps. The wraps have some age-related discolouration, with some splitting in the spine and some wear to the tops and bottoms. The pages also have some age-related discolouration, but otherwise the pamphlet is in excellent condition.