Memory Tree by Gareth Culshaw Nick Laird and of her own strategies

and of her own strategies for living as one of them

is more than a book of poems

witness confronts the fact that what was radical in first century Palestine is hardly less so here and now

Close to the surface of mountain and bogland lie the hidden graves of the 'Disappeared'

laugh-out-loud funny – ‘like having a bad boyfriend in a good band’ – though there is always wisdom beyond the punchline

Memory Tree by Gareth Culshaw Nick Laird and of her own strategiesMemory Tree is crammed with imagery, giving glimpses of the lives of dog walkers, cleaners, miner's wives, and builders. Culshaw's people are the locals 'there's rain, there's sky dishes, small back gardens a neighbour who swops him a handshake'. Gareth Culshaw has an alert, original eye, and a tumbling, energising use of metaphor 'There's a light behind each eye, maybe shines, or dims with each drag of his rollie'. This is a collection to savour.