An Open Parenthesis

<p>Like Philip Rowland's previous Isobar collection <em>Something Other Than Other</em> (2016) <em>An Open Parenthesis</em> gathers short poems into meticulously arranged sequences. Although the book is striking in its minimalism it is not programmatically so: rather it flexibly interweaves themes of city life parenthood and poetics through a series of nine sections that can in the end be read as one long book-length work. While drawing on the poet's notable engagement with the haiku tradition this collection moves into new areas and - as the title suggests - into a new openness and open-endedness.</p>