Thirty-five years after the publication of his first book, Peter Trower has brought together his finest poems for the beautiful, thorough and definitive volume Haunted Hills and Hanging Valleys . From whistle punk to smelter worker to faller to crane operator, Trower worked up and down the West Coast for 22 years collecting the stories and soaking in the vivid imagery and personalities that would characterize much of his perceptively crafted, musical poetry. Haunted Hills and Hanging Valleys presents for the first time the best work of a writing career that has drawn Trower praise as "the poet laureate of this mountain kingdom" from Al Purdy and for "heft and passion and a gift for telling place and detail" from Irving Layton. This long-awaited book will confirm Trower's place as one of our country's most important poets.