The Brittle Sea: New and Selected Poems

This substantial selection is the culmination of more than two decades' worth of beautifully crafted poems. From a poet who was born into a family of musicians, music pervades many of these pieces, as do a large cast of aunts, neighbors, and friends—many of whom appear in Dylan Thomas-like character sketches. Characters are not pinned down, but are allowed to flourish as archetypes, evoking their history and context with a rare empathy and a lyrical lightness of touch. Also included in this collection are several poems written for the Welsh national rugby team as they prepared for the 2007 rugby world cup. The individual human voice, the ragged vagaries of the heart and soul, and the joys and sorrows of family life allow this collection to be personal without being confessional, preferring tender observation to sensationalism or didacticism.