These poems see Bushe further exploring the mountains of distant Nepal and, closer to home, the geographical and literary landscape of west Kerry, where he has lived for many years.

Paddy Bushe's latest collection of poems opens with a stirring suite on music and art, seeing them not as rarefied experiences but as fundamental and nourishing encounters for both their makers and their audience. The distinction between here and elsewhere is blurred, and the playing of an Irish piper seems echoed by that of other musicians in far-flung parts where the poet's enthusiasm for travel and hill-walking takes him. The transition from such open, light-filled spaces to the more uncertain areas of Irish political life makes perfect sense in Bushe's work, the poet's freedom bringing...