Author(s): Fiona Kidman

Poetry

It's been 30 years since Dame Fiona Kidman's first book of poems was published, and now she is back with another, perfectly timed for her 70th birthday in March 2010. There has been renewed interest in her poetry since the recent publication of her memoirs, and this exquisitely packaged collection will not disappoint. Ranging over wide territory, from imagining her Irish grandmothers' arrival in New Zealand, to wearing Katherine Mansfield's shawl, to time spent in Greece and in her garden, the poems are by turns tender and funny, candid and brave. They bear all the hallmarks of Kidman's writing: acute observation, a telling eye for detail, a wry humour and great empathy. "Superb poetry. A truly lovely little book." Metro