Torching the Brown River

Lorna Shaughnessy's first collection of poetry explores the nature of loss, the possibility of change and the ephemeral world of relationships. Her heart is her true barometer as she weaves a delicate web of verse. This assured collection, with its arduous sense of enquiry, crosses borderlines of time and space, speech and silence, mapping the poet's creative journey with an eye firmly on the rear-view mirror. En route, we encounter the poet's great gift for apt metaphors with their surprising signposts that lead to fresh engagements with the world of myth and reality. Noel Monahan