This book brings together for the first time in one collection some of Canadas best hockey poems and song lyrics. Included are works by such outstanding Canadian poets as Michael Ondaatje, Al Purdy, Margaret Avison, Don Gutteridge, and Lorna Crozier. And for music lovers with a taste for contemporary Canadian music, this entertaining collection includes lyrics by The Tragically Hip, The Rheostatics, Kathleen Edwards, Stompin Tom Connors, and others. 'Going Top Shelf' represents a cross-section of Canadas poets and composers ranging from 19th century romantic poet Sir Charles G C Roberts to contemporary pop songstress Jane Siberry. Altogether, more than 30 authors and songwriters from across Canada reflect an intriguing diversity of forms and literary expression. Yet, in all the poems, ice, or the sport played to extensively in Canada upon it, is used to express the ideas, beliefs, and attitudes of this diverse group of Canadian authors. For the poetry scholar, for the lover of good music, for the hockey fan, this is a collection to be enjoyed. Indeed, this book represents a literary 'top shelf' of hockey poetry without equal.