Maskwork

by Gregory Leadbetter

In Gregory Leadbetter's second poetry collection, Maskwork, mystery, theatre and ritual combine to reveal rather than to disguise. The mask, in these resonant poems, acts as a way of becoming, seeing, and knowing granting access to altered states and otherworlds hidden within and beyond ourselves. Here, language itself becomes an animating magic, connecting humans to our ecological roots. The spirit of revival, renaissance, new birth and rebirth haunts this and at its core, the idea of poetry itself as a form of learning an art and a mystery runs like a quicksilver thread throughout, between the elusive and the certain. Leadbetter's meticulously attuned lyrical poetry tells of the transformative experience of knowing, a dynamic state of being that forever alters both the knower and the known.

Genres: Poetry

93 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 6, 2020

Reviews

[Earth&Silver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good lord that was *intoxicating,* even if I was out of my depth on some of the references. I think I need more of his work in my life.

[Morgan Greensmith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lyrical, at once picturesque and horrifying, with a focus on nature and identity I thoroughly connected with

[Rose Paris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leadbetter is rapidly becoming one of my favourite contemporary poets. The stand out poems such of this collection for me - Cara, Tree Script and On Porlock Salt Marsh, are beautifully grounded in the sensory experiences of the human and natural worlds, capturing both the evanescence and timelessness. These poems are described as feeling old and new at the same times, and through this collection we are drawn into ancient times and modern with the same resonance.