Soul Bearing - Patrick Burke PRICE: IRP£4.99 PUBLISHER: Minvera Press (London)

Soul Bearing is a collection of poems remarkable for the range of emotions and issues which it manages to encompass. The author's focus is by turn intensely personal and overtly political, and his is an accomplished and exciting voice in either. A number of poems examine closely the pain of ending relationships and a nostalgia for a vanished past: hence the suitability of the title, and yet the poet frequently inserts a wry humour that is never far away.

Complementing these are others that lay bare the politics and discontent of Ireland, and all are written in a rewarding and accessible style. Of interest to everyone, this collection is full of gems and should be returned to again and again.