The title Night Vision refers firstly to the night vision goggles that enable soldiers to see through the darkness in order to destroy and kill, and secondly to a vision of the political and ecological night that threatens humankind, but also to the faint possibility, grounded in personal relationships and cultural values, that we will see through and somehow transcend this night. The book is a major expression by a veteran poet of searchingly reflective and finely articulated thought. Its subjects and scope extend from the anxious urban landscapes of Vancouver and Calgary to the conflicts and terrors, historic and ongoing, in the US, Latin America, and Europe.

Christopher Levenson taught English and Creative writing at Carleton University, Ottawa, and now lives in Vancouver. He has ten previous books of poetry. Arriving at Night won the Archibald Lampman Award in 1978. He was co-founder and first editor of Arc magazine and series editor of Carleton University Press’s Harbinger imprint for first books of poetry.

Levenson Christopher's profile page

• Short-listed, Governor General's Literary Award