An intelligent and perceptive book about rural landscapes, Rural Night Catalogue sidesteps the linear world of the lyric poem to embrace linguistic playfulness, unusual perspectives and surprise. deBeyer has a gift for setting strong moods, colouring an afternoon on the veranda with a “sierra drawl” and giving specific texture to the smells in the air. These poems put time, light and humanity on the same plane, bending them together into tangible, familiar, forces.

Grounded in the rural landscape, deBeyer’s poetry reflects a fierce attention to detail and an inherent wildness. Devoted to sharing his encounters with fox, deer, barn doors and dusk, he shows his love of countryside and his passion for description. Though place names are few and far between, the reader is gripped by a distinct sense of belonging, longevity and connection, irrespective of specifics, as though each poem has its own frequency. George Elliott Clarke calls this a collection “powered by sense and by science.”

This debut collection was shortlisted for the 2003 Gerald Lampert Award.