Michel Thérien ( ), native of Ottawa, studied at the University of Ottawa and published poems in literary magazines and student newspapers. After graduation he taught and worked in the public service in Canada and abroad. His books of poetry are "Fleuves de mica" (1998), "Corps sauvage" (2000), "Eaux d'ève" (2002, and "L'aridité des fleuves" (2004). Many of his poems are in literary magazines and anthologies in Canada and abroad. "The Wilderness Within" is his first English collection.

   The Wilderness Within se situe à la limite même de la réalité, où on se retrouve devant les forces de la nature à l´état sauvage et foisonnant de beauté. Les images tissées par Michel A. Thérien créent une sorte de hantise chez le lecteur, et l´entraînent dans un merveilleux parcours poétique où il tente de saisir les multiples facettes de l´univers qui se dévoilent à ses yeux en assumant, enfin et pleinement, son corps sauvage, the wilderness within.
   The Wilderness Within lies at the raw edge of reality where nature, depicted as wild and teeming with beauty, is a force to be reckoned with. Michel A. Thérien´s layered and haunting images take us on a stunning poetic journey where one strives to embrace the universe in all its myriad forms by coming to terms with the wilderness within.