Cirrus@Austlit

'Commended, Best Poetry, IP Picks 2006. Dark Husk of Beauty explores the duality of beauty and ugliness, of creation and destruction. The title section addresses the disintegrative beauty of the body subject to the ravages of passion, disease and death. The second section takes up the metaphor of 'Prophecy' Ezekiel s prophecy over the plain of dry bones that, gathered together, grow flesh and are restored to life. In the third section, 'Wings of Desire', the poems defy aesthetic dualism, undeterred by the punishments inflicted for the artists heresy. The final poem, a sequence of versions of lesser-known works of Rilke, attempts to negotiate the portal separating such extremes through grace. This collection appeals to readers across generations, from older adolescents to adults. The material traverses through pop references, film, mythology and psychoanalytic archetypes. Essential for schools and libraries to place in their poetry sections.' (Publication summary)