Watching for Dolphins

David Constantine's second book shows a remarkable development in the range and power of his poetry. After establishing his reputation with the quiet but resonant poems of A Brightness to Cast Shadows (1980), Constantine has gone on to achieve a classical mastery of form and to further develop a highly individual voice, which now has an almost visionary edge. In the poems and related Greek translations of Watching for Dolphins David Constantine recreates a complete imaginative world. Mythical an biblical figures - Christ, Lazarus, Aphrodite and Persephone - appear as opposing forces of Christian compassion and classical excellence. Contrasts and contradictions are at the heart of Constantine's poetic world. The possibility of personal happiness is insisted upon: any wider optimism would be out of place.