The poems in this collection explore the tension between regret and desire, absence and presence, in a series of honed, powerful lyrics whose depth, complexity and range recall the early Mandelstam.

Since there is no growth without loss, no development without pain, and 'towards' entails 'away from', all movement from now must be directed at both past and future and must return again and again to the irrecoverable moment of departure; the act of Homing is perceived as growth: from child, to man, to angel.

J P Dick was born in 1955. His previous work includes Silence and Empty Mirrors (1977) and Chiaroscuro (1981). He acknowledges a debt to the European lyric tradition, and especially to twentieth century Spanish, Portugese and Russian poets. Few people know that this is the first book by the poet later known as John Burnside.