[F. R. Scott's] Selected Poems present an opportunity to reassess his literary contribution. The book makes little claim as great poetry; its value almost assumes a more gigantic role…. The poems are a dynamic expression of … an ambiguous existence. When Scott says he is like a leaf,… he's not only seeing his own discouragement reflected in nature but a vision enriching his awareness of the totality of Canadian existence…. The landscape so vivid in his poetry is no hypnotic daydream for Scott: to him the common fir trees speak "familiar dialect". (pp. 38, 40)