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Out of Sight

by Eamon Grennan
Graywolf. Aug. 2010. c.272p. ISBN 978-1-55597-564-7. $26. POETRY
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"Although things vanish, are what mark our vanishing,/ we still hold onto them—ballast against the updraft/ of oblivion—as I hold onto this umbrella in a world of rain": in Lenore Marshall prizewinner Grennan's poems, there is always a sense of delight, simple and indefatigable, despite what rains and losses might befall. Depicting landscapes that reflect both his native Ireland and his adopted America, these poems rejoice in the natural world. Yet we are never allowed to forget the touch, the often heavy hand, of humans. Grennan tries to measure and balance the insanities and inanities of the world, savoring "flowers of blood-tinted fuchsia" while at the same time, "a sun-stamped world away," there is a terrorist-exploded automobile "with blood drying on the shattered steering column."
VERDICT Gathering the best work from seven previous volumes (including Still Life with Waterfall) and adding more than 30 new poems, this volume is a good place to catch up with this important poet. Highly recommended.
Reviewed by Louis McKee, Painted Bride Arts Ctr., Philadelphia , Jul 01, 2010
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