here
overnight a crisis in the environment
had found its vent
and out of the hemmed-in cornucopia
that was nature once, had started
unstoppably to pour itself back
through this crack in the universe


from 'A View from the Shore'

Cracks in the Universe names those times and spaces in which our awareness is made more acute. Charles Tomlinson's latest collection ranges from memories of childhood incidents to vivid evocations of America, France and Spain; from meditations on works of art to precisely observed details of the world as 'the thing it is'. Tomlinson views the commonplace afresh: apples, a glass of water - the M62. Infused with a sense of the mysteries to be found within phenomena, this is a collection shaped by the passing of time that reconciles the human and the natural worlds: the lengthening shadows at sundown that transform the walker into a 'phantom giant', the shifting planes of light and dark that mark out the seasons in a house and in the landscapes around it.

'Tomlinson has an international reputation as a poet and translator. He is also a painter and brings his artist's eye to his poetry, drawing out exact lines, creating luminous imagery that is still touched by a sense of mystery. Please read him...his collection Seeing is Believing is one of my all-time favourites.' - Sion Hamilton, The Bookseller pick of 2006.