The Canadian imagination can be divided into two distinct (yet not uniquely separate) forms: the outback, or wilderness and often being associated with unstructured verse; and the basement, or that of the settlements, which closely follows the traditional structured form carried out by the settlers. Although separate in terms of verse form and theme, the two are linked by a widely prominent patrilineal cultural norm. That is, both branches of this Canadian creative endeavor borrow methodology from some other source and are not unilaterally Canadian. With the first statement in mind, the nature of a truly “Canadian” imagination becomes a question: Is it possible to ascertain a unique Canadian identity without including the prejudices of external cultures? Furthermore, is it possible to determine a truly Canadian imagination by taking into account this range of diversity? This essay will explore a hypothesis that suggests that the Canadian imagination is not truly unique, but is rather the byproduct of a cultural mosaic; furthermore, it is an identity that presents no new characteristics and is largely composed of a growing number of external influences. Furthermore, while the previous notion might suggest that the Canadian imagination is rightly a product of multiple influences, a truly unique identity is assumed to be one that can be discerned by reading and not left to ambiguity and questioning. For the purposes of the essay, the works of Al Purdy, AJM Smith, A. Lampman, and Isabella Crawford will be examined to determine their coherence with a developing imagination and the extent to which they portray uniqueness. In DMR Bentley's essay The Mower and the Boneless Acrobat, Bentley discusses the two orientations of Canadian poetry mentioned in the introduction to this essay, baseland and outback. Bentley describes basic earth poetry as “… a tendency towards