On Occasion (Poems for the People)

A twenty-first-century reconsideration of the occasional poem by contemporary writers.

On Occasion is a collection rooted in the tradition of the poem as an act of love, an act of protest, an act of visionary incantation, of remembrance, of a call to arms, and a much-needed balm. 

The traditional ‘occasional poem’ has a bad rap: a tedious rhyming poem at a wedding or a dreary verse at a funeral. This is not that. These are poems for a tumultuous and complicated world, for occasions that may be celebrations or mournings, or anything in between; from life cycles, to earth cycles, to social cycles, editor Sina Queyras brings together a collection of poetry that speaks to moments of upheaval, revolution, and challenge. Poetry that people can turn to.

On Occasion contains over a hundred poems for different occasions, including writing by Suzanne Buffam, Heather Christle, CAConrad, Sue Goyette, Canisia Lubrin, bpNichol, Michael Ondaatje, Lisa Robertson, Sue Sinclair, and A. E. Stallings.