Chaos & Calm

In both subject matter and style, Angelika Quirk's new poetry book ranges far and wide-from her childhood experiences in war-torn Hamburg playing in the rubble of hollow houses, to the delights and perils of love, to the wit of the latest offerings in imagery, as in "Body Parts Galore" -souls on sale/ some lighter than air/ some thinner than sin.

We follow the lead of her lyrical voice through a dreamscape that includes Valkyries, an escape artist, a bearded monk, a Derwish dancer, a camel spitting into the sinking sun and a kleptomaniac squinting at the hologram of her elusive mind.

She writes about the inequalities of the human condition: the war in Ukraine "Lacrimosa-Weeping", children separated from families at the Mexican border, and refugees drowning in the Mediterranean Sea-A child's body washes ashore./ His father clutching him./ His eyes turning east toward Mecca. The poet doesn't just brush against the surface of things, but delves into the complexity beneath, If I could give up the fear of falling, / of drowning, I could dive down/ into your murky depth....

Looming over this collection is a menacing past, both personal and historical: the poet surviving war and famine, hiding in bomb-shelters, yet as a teenager dancing in operas and ballets, she keeps her balance with style and verve. In her poem "They Are Dancing" her final words:

"They touch the sun, then dance on ashes, practicing the graceful ways of angels. They dance on shards of a broken world. They dance."