Chaos & Calm

<p>In both subject matter and style Angelika Quirk's new poetry book ranges far and wide-from her childhood experiences in war-torn Hamburg playing <em>in the rubble of hollow houses</em> to the delights and perils of love to the wit of the latest offerings in imagery as in Body Parts Galore -<em>souls on sale/ some lighter than air/ some thinner than sin.</em></p><p></p><p>We follow the lead of her lyrical voice through a dreamscape that includes Valkyries an escape artist a bearded monk a Derwish dancer a camel <em>spitting into the sinking sun</em> and a kleptomaniac <em>squinting at the hologram of her elusive mind</em>.</p><p></p><p>She writes about the inequalities of the human condition: the war in Ukraine Lacrimosa-Weeping children separated from families at the Mexican border and refugees drowning in the Mediterranean Sea-<em>A child's body washes ashore./ His father clutching him./ His eyes turning east toward Mecca</em>. The poet doesn't just brush against the surface of things but delves into the complexity beneath <em>If I could give up the fear of falling/ of drowning I could dive down/ into your murky depth...</em>.</p><p></p><p>Looming over this collection is a menacing past both personal and historical: the poet surviving war and famine hiding in bomb-shelters yet as a teenager dancing in operas and ballets she keeps her balance with style and verve. In her poem They Are Dancing her final words:</p><p></p><p><em> They touch the sun then dance on ashes practicing the graceful ways of angels. They dance on shards of a broken world. They dance.</em></p>