Selected Poems

Minhinnick Robert

Robert Minhinnick's is amongst the major voices of modern Wales. His "Selected Poems" draws on six collections published between 1978 and 1994. Several uncollected pieces are also included. The earlier poems are diverse: descriptions of work in heavy industry and delicate "herbals" (observations of wildlife around the writer's childhood home in Wales) exist side by side. Later poems deal with travel – in Brazil and the United States – and depict the troubled, often terrifying world of schizophrenia.

"Selected Poems" celebrates the life and characters of a close-knit community – a peopled landscape – then breaks away to consider history and culture from wider perspectives. Powerful images and severe compassion are hallmarks of the work.

About the Author

Robert Minhinnick was born in 1952 and lives in south Wales. He has published nine collections of poetry, including "The Adulterer's Tongue", translations of works by six Welsh poets. He has been the winner of a Society of Authors Eric Gregory Award and a Cholmondeley Award, and has twice won the Forward Prize for best individual poem. His books of essays have twice won the Wales Book of the Year Prize. His first novel, "Sea Holly", was published by Seren in 2007. Robert Minhinnick edited "Poetry Wales" magazine from 1997 to 2008. He co-founded Friends of the Earth (Cymru) and Sustainable Wales, and is an advisor to Sustainable Wales.

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