Jason Holt

Inversed: ($15, ISBN: 978-1-937536-62-6, Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-68114-138-1, LCCN: 2014933259, 6X9″, 92pp, February 2014; Purchase on Amazon or Barnes and Noble): In these poems, Jason Holt explores unusual word patterns that can help thoughts and feelings break free from the structures of habit and convention. Word-work and play come together here—in an attempt to resolve, by expressing them, the inevitable conflicts of raw experience.

“A new book by the inimitable Canadian poet Jason Holt always offers an adventure both exhilarating and terrifying. In one sense, Inversed is no exception to the patterns that mark this exceptional poet’s progress. The reader will delight to find his trademarks of condensed diction and spare syntax, scintillating settings for his huge subjects in powerfully implosive poems that have consistently set Holt apart from all the other poets of his generation. But the poems of Inversed burn even brighter with the cold fire of Holt’s word-passion, fluttering like a titanium butterfly on a pica.” —Liane Heller, author of Exposures and Code of Silence

Up Against Beyond: Selected Poems, 1994-2017: ($20, 134pp, 6X9”: Softcover ISBN: 978-1-68114-317-0; $35: Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-68114-318-7; $2.99: EBook ISBN: 978-1-68114-319-4; LCCN: 2017937169; Release: July 20, 2017; Purchase on Amazon or Barnes & Noble): This book comprises 121 poems selected from two dozen years of Jason Holt’s work, including poems from six previous books and verse appearing here for the first time. Holt’s poetic trademarks—rhythmic stress, syntactic variation, wordplay, neologism—are apparent throughout in service of the aesthetic moment that is, for so many, as elusive as it is worthy of pursuit.

“What I particularly enjoyed about this collection is that excerpts are taken from the poet’s life spanning 23 years. We get to see a poet in various moods, and various spaces, using language as a tool for each occasion. I would recommend this work for anyone interested in reading new poetic voices and particularly those who are open to experimental poems.” —Infinite Text

Fledges and Phraselings: (Softcover: $15, 76pp, 6X9”: ISBN-13: 978-1-68114-502-0; Hardcover: $30: ISBN-13: 978-1-68114-503-7; EBook: $2.99: ISBN-13: 978-1-68114-504-4; Amazon Soft Cover: ISBN: 979-8-595942-41-6; Kindle eBook: ASIN: B08T7VC6TS; LCCN: 2019906508; Poetry—Canadian; Release: October 1, 2019; Purchase on Amazon or Barnes & Noble): This is Jason Holt’s first book of new poems in five years. Along with his usual penchants for wordplay and rhythm, for exploring the tensions between reality and possibility, intellect and emotion, hope and despair, Holt also (for the first time) titles his poems throughout—in ways that stress the context-sensitivity of our encounters with meaning in life as on the page.

“To me, good poetry is poetry that is fresh each time one reads it, yielding new pleasures and unforeseen perceptions. I can say without reservation that, having read Fledges and Phraselings several times, I fully anticipate my next encounter with its jests and gestures.” –T. Culleton, LibraryThing

Poems for Another Time: (Softcover: 72pp, 6X9”, ISBN: 979-8-590155-35-4; Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-68114-555-6; EBook: Amazon ASIN; LCCN: 2021900027; Poetry—Canadian—General; Release: July 15, 2021; Purchase on Amazon): In this book, Jason Holt continues his ongoing exploration of the scope of articulate meaning, with poems no less about the language itself than the subject matter. With tones ranging from somber meditation on his father’s death to playful engagement with common idioms and well-known works of literature, Holt’s characteristic style is here in high gear.

Just How Empty (Softcover: $15, 82pp, 6X9”: 979-8-386127-00-8; Hardcover: $20: 979-8-386127-10-7; Kindle: $2.99; LCCN: 2023904276; Nonfiction—Poetry—Canadian; Released: March 10, 2023. Purchase via links on Amazon): is the tenth book of poetry in Jason Holt’s now thirty-year body of work. From short, poignant turns to more reflective meditations and expressions in free verse and traditional forms, these poems reflect new interests in Eastern philosophy, practices of embodied wisdom, and the importance of being authentic in accepting and integrating different aspects of one’s life and life experiences.

The Reaching Hand That All My Poems Are: (Softcover: $15, 110pp, 6X9”: 978-1-68114-609-6; Hardcover: $20: 978-1-68114-610-2; Kindle: $2.99; Books—Literature & Fiction—Poetry—Single Authors; LCCN: 2024910081; Purchase on Amazon): This book includes 100 new poems and constitutes the next step in Jason Holt’s evolution as an experimental poet. Here Holt’s familiar techniques of rhythmic wordplay and syntactic variation are complemented by new ventures into equivocal repetition and the repurposing of tropes from earlier work. It is Holt’s eleventh book of poetry, his sixth with Anaphora Literary Press.

A professor’s illicit affair and unconventional research jeopardize his future.

The Professor’s Outline (Softcover: $15: ISBN: 978-1-68114-627-0: 56pp; Kindle: $9.99; LCCN: 2025915553; Books—Literature & Fiction—Dramas & Plays—Contemporary; Release: July 20, 2025) is the story of John Sloat, a junior professor trying to make his way in the world of academia. Searching for a research focus, he discovers the experimental fiction of a little-known, pseudonymous author. Although the administration frowns on this research, Sloat feels compelled to continue. Along the way, he has a torrid affair with a university librarian who shares his passion for the author’s work. But as the pressure mounts to change course in his life and work, will Sloat continue to pursue his passions? Will he solve the mystery of the unknown author? Can he do so without sacrificing life or livelihood? By the end we learn that in the academic world…

Every exception has its rule.

Best Feature Script Nominee, Toronto Film and Script Awards:

Best Feature Screenplay, Los Angeles Film and Documentary Awards:

Jason Holt lives in Wolfville, Canada, with his wife Megan and their cats Ruby, Jasper, and Tia. He is Professor of Kinesiology at Acadia University, where he teaches courses in communication and philosophy of sport. His research focuses on diverse topics in aesthetics and physical culture. Recent scholarly books include Kinetic Beauty: The Philosophical Aesthetics of Sport (2020) and An Introduction to the Philosophy of Leisure (2025). His latest literary books, also published by Anaphora Literary Press, are Just How Empty (2023) and The Reaching Hand That All My Poems Are (2024).