Louis Dudek (1918-2001), the author of countless critical publications, was one of Canada's most important poets, as well as an editor, literary critic and McGill University professor emeritus. The Montreal native founded Contact Press, a major poetry publisher in the '50s and '60s, with Irving Layton and Raymond Souster. Dudek went on to found CIV/n, the little magazine "Delta," and The McGill Poetry Series, which helped establish the reputations of emerging poets like Leonard Cohen.

Essays and articles written in Montreal and published in various Canadian magazines form this collection.