Books by Derek Baines

Taking us across culture and landscapes and evoking other states, Derek Baines's new collection touches raw nerves and brings humour to some of our most challenging experiences. A lone traveller enjoys hospitality at an ancient Japanese inn, an insomniac artist produces a masterwork from his subconscious, and a marathon runner moves out of his own body. A Most Urgent Task is a compelling story in verse of how we are living and dreaming today.

Charting an international journey through the beauty of nature and art, the starkness of urban life and the honesty of human emotion, Flying Through Cloud evokes both the humour and vulnerability of our condition. Derek Baines, in this first collection, reconciles our thirst for travel with a constant need for home. A singular and accessible voice, luring us to sensuous highs. ';These poems are elegant as a kimono. Indeed, at times they feel slightly Japanese gentle, beautiful, graceful and flowing.' Kate Llewellyn