by Robin Robertson (Author)
Robin Robertson's fourth collection is an intense, moving, bleakly lyrical, and at times shocking book. These poems are written with the authority of classical myth, yet sound utterly contemporary. The poet's gaze--whether on the natural world or the details of his own life--is unflinching and clear, its utter seriousness leavened by a wry, dry, and disarming humor.
Alongside fine translations from Neruda and Montale and dynamic retellings of stories from Ovid, the poems here pitch the power and wonder of nature against the frailty and failure of the human. This is a book of considerable grandeur and sweep that confirms Robertson as one of the most arresting and powerful poets at work today.
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Praise for The Wrecking Light
Robertson s lines have the luminosity of myth. The Wrecking Light is a work of extraordinary visionary power, its music bleak and beautiful, spare and unsparing. Guardian (UK)
Breathtaking, utterly and heartbreakingly breathtaking. Globe and Mail
Robin Robertson s fourth collection is an intense experience: moving, bleakly lyrical, and at times shocking. These poems are written with the authority of classical myth, yet sound utterly contemporary. The poet s gaze whether on the natural world or the personal is unflinching and clear, its utter seriousness leavened by a wry, dry, and disarming humor. Alongside fine translations from Neruda and Montale and dynamic retellings of stories from Ovid, the poems here pitch the power and wonder of nature against the frailty and failure of the human. This is a book of considerable grandeur and sweep that confirms Robertson as one of the most arresting and powerful poets at work today.
Robin Robertson is the author of three previous books of poetry, A Painted Field, Slow Air, and Swithering. He is the recipient of the E. M. Forster Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, among other honors. At Roane Head, in this collection, won the 2009 Forward Poetry Prize for Best Single Poem. He lives in London.
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