Close Quarters

by Justin Quinn

In Poetry Review Michael Hulse commended Justin Quinn’s ‘polished, urbane manner that owes something to Brodsky . . . its great attraction as poetry lies in the lithe lyric gift . . .’ and remarked on ‘. . . the density Quinn commands even at his seeming simplest . . . light in its touch, engaging in tone, and civilized in stance.’For the first time since his debut in 1995 Justin Quinn in this, his fifth collection, turns his careful gaze on Ireland, from the 1980s to the present, and especially on Blackrock in County Dublin where he grew up. As the book’s title hints, embraces and battles take place at close quarters. Clashes occur both in relationships and between countries, and the poems ring the change on ‘ amour and attack’ as he writes about marriage, being a parent, the cold wars and cultural exchange. A series of pastoral poems refract the months of a year while the collection confirms its author as an adept of the concise idea, a new directness of expression and a singing line.

80 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011