Handful of Water, A

Rebecca Gethin has already made her mark as a brilliant observer of the natural world, but A Handful of Water is something else again. This new collection - always composed, meditative, inquisitive, tender - has a powerful and passionate interior life, whether of family, of first world war soldiers, or of prisoners and their visitors (here the writer is drawing on her experience of working in prisons). Although the tone of the poems is quiet, cool and respectful, the verbal invention is exceptional, and the variety of forms exciting. Every poem turns up sudden surprises, wonderful delights. It's like reading a pool, beneath which there is a delirium of movement and feeling. The assurance is startling. If you want a journey into the unknown, read A Handful of Water. It's utterly stunning. -- Publisher: Cinnamon Press