Victoria University Press
$19.95
Review: by Guy Allan*
Stephanie de Montalk writes with unusual grace. There are few smart, highly quotable phrasings but the words are never plain.
Some carry a slight smile, most are in a strangely neutral tone.
Although she might be telling a straightforward story or describing familiar objects, there is often also a sense of mystery.
A fleeting detail, clear in itself, will suggest something beyond:
His grandfather
is a herbalist
his mother
a young woman
who once stood
in front of a pine tree
in a blue and white printed dress.
Cool and steady, these poems set off many small resonances.
Animals Indoors is the best first book of poetry this year.
* Guy Allan is an Auckland trade union official and freelance writer.
<i>Stephanie de Montalk:</i> Animals Indoors
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