The social decline of the oystercatcher

Sue Vickerman made her debut with her pamphlet Shag (Arrowhead Press 2003). Her poems, punctuated by keenly observed birds, were described as edgy, elemental, and tender: "straight-talking narratives... dense and gritty, at home on the edge of things" (Linda France, editor, Bloodaxe's Sixty Women Poets). The poems in this, her first full-length collection, continue to range over birds and the world of human relationships with a direct and uncompromising gaze.

"A breathless, breathtaking collection, nature au naturel: poetry refracted in the prism of her beacon eye, as effortless as a fulmar's flight... Birds given tongue and tangy taste... This riotous palette of colourful, heart-felt, sharply poignant, piercingly topical experience [is] a glorious achievement."

Magnus Magnusson

"...passionate, laconic poetry of a distinguished kind... These poems aren't really about birds. And yet they are. Painful, witty, long-sighted – I seem to be running out of adjectives. And no wonder."

U. A. Fanthorpe

"... poems [that] remind those of us who write only in lists how much we need rhythm in our lives... A reminder of what really matters in this hectic world."

Sandi Toksvig

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