In his poem Singing School Seamus Heaney tells us that 'Description is revelation' and in the hands of the Irish master it often is. Polley is fortunate to share this knack for most of the time. If there is a criticism of The Brink - and to be frank it's quite hard to find one - it is that some of the poems fail to make the jump from description to revelation. In Crabbing for example, which is a fine evocative piece about fishing for crabs in the harbour, the final ' tip them out, count them and kick them back into the sea ' is a little disappointing. In his poem The Snag Polley may even hint at this particular shortcoming in his work when he writes: ' What's my point? It falls short like the sighting of dead stars' .
For once, then, you can take the blurb on the dust jacket at face value. Polley does indeed possess a 'remarkably mature talent' - especially since he is still in his twenties. However, it will be interesting to see, when he emerges more fully from the shadow of Hughes and Heaney, whether his poetry improves or deteriorates? If it improves, then we are certainly all in for a treat.