The poems in Irene, written before and after Cooleys mothers death, form an elegy to her. In Cooleys words: . . . its taken on some associations, connections with the Persephone story perhaps most obviously. The book is very personal, very close and emotional to me.. . . [Irene] is dense, emotionally rich and moving.The Globe and Mail

Dennis Cooley was raised near Estevan, Saskatchewan. He is currently an English professor at the University of Manitoba and resides in Winnipeg. He is a founding editor of Turnstone Press.