The dark attunes our eyes to detail the light can sometimes conceal; similarly, Colette Bryce’s new poems are ‘slant tellings’ that reveal strange and true reflections. Using a wide range of imaginative strategies, Bryce examines the ways in which time is held, space enclosed – and a life framed and given meaning: a face in a broken mirror, a spider trapped under a glass, or a stolen kiss in a car-wash. Bryce’s two previous prize-winning collections were widely admired for their marvellously seductive music and their speed of thought; Self-Portrait in the Dark widens and deepens the poet’s scope, and is her most emotionally compelling collection to date.
From the publisher:
“Self-Portrait in the Dark amply fulfils the promise of earlier books… A frightening power can lurk under the delicate organisation of these often astonishing new poems.”
Alan Brownjohn, Sunday Times
“This is the contemporary lyric at its most carefully poised and balanced, and it demonstrates Bryce’s significant intelligence… her words succeed in going out into the world and bringing something genuine back.”
Vidyan Ravinthiran, Tower Poetry Review
Book Details
Paperback: 64 pages
Publisher: Picador (5 Sept. 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0330456253
ISBN-13: 978-0330456258
Product Dimensions: 12.7 x 0.3 x 20.3 cm