Michael Ondaatje has assembled some of his finest poems into a singular poetic memoir that invokes the arc of his own journey over fifty years. In poems that grow out of his understanding of longing and loss, he navigates his past, beginning with memories of distant landscapes, remembrances of his childhood in Sri Lanka and his eccentric family, as well as celebrations of admired fellow travellers and treasured friends. The poems take us from the exhilarations of youth into that "storm of music" and the passionate swerves of love and desire, until the book reaches the calm of that moment when "only a cloud's reflection holding you up / You swim into late afternoon." The Distance of a Shout offers us a rare, unusual glimpse into the life and art of an indispensable poet and novelist, a reminder itself of the power of great poetry to shine a light on living.