Thing in the gap stone stile, paperback/alice oswald

Alice Oswalds first book of poems, The Thing in the Gap-stone Stile is more confident and achieved than many first collections.

Previously published in Anvil New Poets 2, a selection chosen by Carol Ann Duffy, and winner of the 1994 Eric Gregory Award, Oswald already clearly demonstrates a distinct voice.

The poems here are extraordinarily beautiful: intensely musical, strewn with emotion, and full of energy and warmth.

Influenced by Gerard Manley Hopkins and George Herbert, they speak passionately of nature and love.

They have a religious sense of mystery, and try to express the intangible in marvellously vivid language.

The second part of the book features an entertaining long poem titled The Men of Gotham, a comical folk-legend about the three men who went to sea to try to catch the moon in a net.

Taken together, this is a wonderful first collection by an exceptionally talented young poet.