New York: W. W. Norton, 2004
194 p.
“This landmark publication heralds the long-awaited American debut of one of Australia’s best poets. John Kinsella delves deep into the emotional truths recorded in the undulations of his homeland. He uses the complexity of the natural world as a lens to explore human experience: the rich desperation of survival, the blinding force of life that surges through everything around us and reflects our own sense of futility, fear, and occasional acceptance. All of this he accomplishes in a whisper – the divergent mysteries of night, among them loneliness and independence, are almost deciphered by the black twisting of tree branches. With effusive, rhythmic language these poems draw you in tight and slow, showing internal and external landscapes, finding a beauty even in the spoiled. ” – From the dust jacket