Wowsers

In Paul Groves's fourth book, which consolidates his reputation as one of the most able and consistent poets of his generation, we encounter such unlikely stablemates as Rudolf Hess, Virginia Woolf, Dylan Thomas, and Otto von Bismarck. It ends with 'The Orthodox Chapel of St. Dyfrig', an anagrammatical tour de force. While his characteristic wit enlivens 'So Now You Know' and 'In the Kabul McDonald's', elsewhere darker forces congregate. 'Three Devils', for example, conflates the ordinary and extraordinary with chilling brio. An unsettling perspicuity is apparent throughout these pages, as is an equal facility with vers libre and formal structures. Wowsers is a wonderfully accessible and entertaining collection. "As always, Groves' technical skills are dazzling and his wit dark and delicately delivered." New Welsh Review "He's got to be kidding hasn't he?" Planet "It's as if Thomas Hardy had stirred in Mellstock churchyard and started reading The Times laughingstocks of the 1890s." Ambit Paul Groves was brought up in Wales, to which he has returned after living for twenty-five years in the Forest of Dean. He has been strikingly successful in national and international competitions and has published poetry and criticism in a wide range of periodicals, including The London Magazine, Poetry Review and The Times Literary Supplement. He lives in Monmouth.