Interview with Canadian poet Al Purdy from 1986, with Kevin Courrier.
At the time of the interview, , McClelland & Stewart had just released The Collected Poems of Al Purdy which collected Purdy's best work from the previous 25 years. A published poet since 1944, Purdy published 39 books of poetry in his lifetime and was awarded numerous prizes and honours, including the Order of Canada in 1982, the Order of Ontario in 1987, and the Governor General's Award for Poetry for the 1986 volume. Al Purdy passed away in 2000 at the age of 81.
The segment first aired on the radio show On the Arts, on CJRT-FM in Toronto in 1986. For more from Kevin Courrier, and other arts critics, visit us at www.criticsatlarge.ca.
