The poem ‘At the Root of the Wind is Strife’ was Highly Commended in this year’s selection for the Forward prize, The Forward Book of Poetry 2016. “If you buy only one book of poems a year, this should be it” it says on the back cover. Then turn to p.92!

Singling out the same poem in his review of The Observances for Magma 62, Rob Mackenzie commented that the last lines are ‘about as close as a contemporary poet might dare to come to Hopkins without sounding like a parody!’ ( His exclamation mark.)