There's nothing more grand than coffee in the backyard when your child is at a summer art camp. Unless, it's accompanied by a book of poetry written by a dear friend. To read Arrivals and Departures by Nina Berkhout is to be swept into a Rilkean sea, waves crashing, relentless and delicate, grief-filled and wise.
The pared down lines, the dangerous lull of the rhythmic waves that make up the poems, and the narrator's perfect distance, are utterly breathtaking in combination.
Having an intimate perspective on this work, I can only concur. She is brilliantly worthy of such sweet praise.
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