Delightful while sobering and illuminating, a memoir-in-verse celebrates pop music as it revisits cultural history and queer coming-of-age in the ’80s and ’90s. —Brett Josef Grubisic reviews Soundtrack: A Lyric Memoir, by Michael V. Smith (Toronto: Book*hug, 2025) $24.95 / 9781771669498
Venerable poet “delivers an impressive thirteenth poetry book,” “a collection that is not only evocative and visceral but masterfully precise, honouring its namesake (a reference to the formerly common training routine of figure skaters to practice control, precision, and balance).” —Brooke Lee reviews Compulsory Figures, by John Barton (Qualicum Beach: Caitlin Press, 2025) $20.00 / 9781773861661