Bert Almon has been writing and publishing poetry since 1968 and served as a professor of English Literature at the University of Alberta for forty years. The winner of many prestigious prizes, including the Stephan G. Stephansson Prize for Poetry (twice) and the City of Edmonton Book Prize, he has also been inducted to the Edmonton Cultural Hall of Fame, an honour that celebrated his role as mentor to many now well-established poets. The Cracking Tower: New and Selected Poems is the first collection to offer a retrospective of Almon’s work as a poet.

Selected by award-winning poet David Martin in collaboration with the author, and edited by Wendy McGrath, this collection presents readers with the keen-eyed lyric voice that Almon has refined over decades, as well as new works that continue his thematic explorations. Almon’s poetry employs a fine-tuned lyric precision to consider his childhood in small-town Texas, the deprivations and hardships faced by his parents, his own journey in finding love and family life, the inescapable path of aging, and passionate observations on art and world travel.