Cormorant Books is set to launch a new poetry line, according to a press release sent out earlier today. Beginning in spring 2011, the Toronto-based publisher will release four poetry titles per year.

The new line will be overseen by Montreal-based poet Robyn Sarah, who has been published by Cormorant, as well as Biblioasis, The Porcupine’s Quill, and House of Anansi Press. Of the four annual titles, at least two will be new works by living poets and at least one will be an anthology or new edition of an out-of-print work.

Cormorant stated it is particuarly interested in “new manuscripts from poets under 35 who have already published at least one book, but we are open to poets at all stages and from all walks of life.”

Sarah said in the release that she is drawn to “poems that have lasting resonance, that invite re-reading and reading aloud, that balance sound with sense, and that go beyond mere personal biography or the topicalities of the day to evoke universal human questions and emotions.”

Cormorant began in 1987 with the publication of a work of poetry. The company’s decision to return to its roots “was inspired in no small measure by the success of the Griffin Prize for Poetry, which has raised the profile of and appreciation for this important genre in the reading public’s imagination.”