In the title poem, set in Rome, a chance meeting with the dying Rudolf Nureyev strikes the poet, himself a dancer, as hallucinatory. Along with the poems prompted by his mother's death, it is one of several unsettling poems in this collection. Yet a celebratory strain runs through the book, providing a counter-balance: there are poems which celebrate active life, vigorous sexuality, and the subtle steps of the tango. The result is a characteristically robust and varied collection which continues the vein of subtle dandyism for which Howell is renowned.
- ISBN13 9780856463648
- Publish Date 30 May 2003
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Carcanet Press Ltd
- Imprint Anvil Press Poetry
- Format Paperback
- Pages 144
- Language English