Closer Than That

Description

Gail Dendy’s new collection, Closer Than That, is full of delicate observations about the human condition, as are many anthologies, but these poems are crafted with the utmost skill and imbued with the musical soul of a dancer.

The poetry lilts and dances in rhythmic metre and one can almost imagine Dendy’s feet keeping time to the words, as if they were notes on a musical score. This musicality makes reading the poetry a pleasure, but getting to the meat of the meaning is just as rewarding. Dendy’s poem cover a vast range of subject matter: love, the art of writing, the physical realities of the body, and the essence of life itself are just some of the subjects broached in this anthology.

Two poems in this collection were shortlisted for the Sol Plaatje Award earlier this year. “Anatomy” and “With her Feet on the Ground” deal with being a lover and the essential nature of certain people respectively.