The Hundred Thousand Places, inspired by walks across the isles and highlands, is a single poem in three parts. Time unfolds gradually in Clark’s verse. His short stanzas, some only a few lines long, illustrate a slow gathering of thought. The collection begins in the isles, at dawn: 'once again/for the first time/morning'. Descriptions of sea mists, salt winds and sand bars transport the reader. The second section begins inland and guides the reader along the ground. Bracken, mica and thorns suggest the rough moorlands. The final section shares the first’s air of discovery and the second’s earthiness. The narrator climbs a summit, confirming his sense of self and his relationship to the land. What’s good about this collection is how the form is based on the narrator’s sense of direction. Clark is very aware of where his narrator is going: 'you are not where/you are not there/ahead of the given/in continual revelation'. His use of second person also creates a sense of freedom and distance. Space, pace and wild beauty are on the reader’s mind throughout this tantalising collection. TM