Angels and Harvesters

Description

‘There is a deceptive clarity, an almost translucent surface to the poems which belies their complexity and ambition. These are poems in search of — and in response to –the numinous, the sacred, but they never settle for easy pieties or shortcuts.’ — MICHAEL SYMMONS ROBERTS and MONIZA ALVI, PBS Bulletin

James Harpur’s fifth collection journeys into realms seen and unseen, ranging from the landscapes of Ireland to the visionary realms of the mystics. Through the finely textured music of his poems, he explores emotional and spiritual intimacies while keeping a sharp observant eye on the everyday world.

In Part One, death and alienation inform poems about the war-ravaged monastery of Monte Cassino, a churchyard ghost, the sacred site of Gougane Barra and a ‘leper’s squint’. Part Two moves to a more ethereal dimension with lyrics about mystics and heightened states of being.

Angels and Harvesters displays both human tenderness and an otherworldly wonder, as Harpur continues his quest to reconcile the complexities of the human condition with a deep-seated spiritual longing.

James Harpur. Paperback, 64 pages, 2012