Water Mirrors

Water Mirrors

Winner of the 2011 Thomas Shapcott Poetry Prize, Nicholas Powell explores intimacy, illusions and the task of reconciling the many facets of experience in his exciting volume of poetry, Water Mirrors.

Drawing inspiration from Nicholas' 'enchanting and disorientating' experience of moving to Helsinki, Finland, his poems are concerned with fluctuating perceptions, and with the relationship of language to meaning and aesthetics. Subjects range from the personal to the political, to art, nature, and love. Tonally, it takes in the stark, playful, tender and ironic. This collection will dazzle and delight readers interested in stylistic experiments and depth of insight.

Approaching Sunlight on Brownstones
What brings these two to the doorway?
He buttons a cuff. Her elbow rests
on cool marble. Dapper and bathed
in light, disowning their shadows.
Across the pond, trees eavesdrop.
Come close. He is not buttoning a cuff.
His elbow is bent in a smoking pose.
She is bored. The trees do not bend,
but blur. Water is a grey wall.
Soon their boat will sail.

This stunning debut signals the emergence of an exciting new talent to join previous Thomas Shapcott prize-winners who are at the forefront of Australian poetry, including Jaya Savige, Sarah Holland-Batt and Felicity Plunkett. A sumptuous and deeply original work, Water Mirrors is certain to be enjoyed by readers keen to experience an extraordinary new voice.

Nicholas Powell was born in Armidale, New South Wales. In 2007 he was awarded a Young Australian Poets Fellowship, and a chapbook, of Fallen Myth, was published by the Poets Union. Later that year he relocated to Finland, where he lived for three years, and where many of the poems in Water Mirrors were written. He divides his time between Finland and Australia.

Water Mirrors
UQP
Author: Nicholas Powell
ISBN: 9780702249358
Price: $24.95