Optician To The Stars

In OPTICIAN TO THE STARS,the British-Canadian Todd Swift, one of theleading poet-editors of his generation, takes a look atlife with and without rose-tinted specs, consideringthe sublunar world in all its beauty and horror. Thecollection favours briefer, more epigrammatic poems,often composed on his iPhone while waiting forblood tests or unable to sleep. For the past two yearshave seen Swift survive a blood clot on his heart,and a life-changing diagnosis. Not a diary of diseaseand recovery, and never seeking easy epiphanies, thepoems nevertheless unfold a tapestry of humane,witty, and often formally-delightful perceptions. Fromremembering poets who have died, to celebrating seeinga movie star from Mad Max: Fury Road cycling past, theseare poems always seeking to see things, and say things,with craft, skill, elegance, and joy.