Douglas Elves has written poetry since his teen years in Edmonton. 
While following various avenues in life and work, his grounding concern was to develop his skill in ‘the craft so longe to lerne,’ in Chaucer’s words. His patience in that task has been misinterpreted by some who had contrary agendas, but poetry has always been his guiding light.
From a golden year of writing when he was nineteen and twenty; through work in the seventies for the University of Alberta Students’ Union in which, amongst other responsibilities, he hosted poetry readings by the likes of Al Purdy, Milton Acorn, Joe Rosenblatt, Ralph Gustafson, Don Gutteridge, Dennis Lee and others; through a period of writing sonnets in the eighties while traversing a short-lived detour into politics; to convening, briefly chairing and then serving as treasurer of the Stroll of Poets Society for many years in the nineties and beyond, he has both written poetry and brought his democratic vision to bear on the poetry scene of Edmonton.
He has rarely sent out poems to literary magazines, preferring to keep his poems continually available on the internet. Most poems have been withdrawn from this website now that the full collection is available in book form. Click on the ‘Poems‘ menu item to view a selection.
