To be swept away to the B.C. wilds, Sheryl MacKay reads The Collected Poems of Patrick Lane

July 1, 2017 marks 150 years since Confederation in Canada. CBC Books is creating the Great Canadian Reading List — a list of 150 books curated by you.

• The great Canadian reading list: 150 books to read for Canada 150

Sheryl MacKay, host of CBC Radio's North By Northwest, adds The Collected Poems of Patrick Lane by Patrick Lane to the reading list.

"Patrick Lane's widely regarded as one of our finest poets and he's won every major literary prize in Canada. His poems chart his life, his troubled family relationships of the past, his own challenges with drinking, his deep love of nature, his work as a labourer and his love of words. These are poems of deep beauty, filled with love and compassion for human frailty and they are set vividly in the landscapes of B.C. I can, and often do, open this book at any page and be swept away by the beauty of his words."

• Patrick Lane on his writing routine and embracing change

Sheryl MacKay is the host of CBC Radio's North By Northwest, which airs Saturdays and Sundays from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. across British Columbia.