THE BOOK OF SHADOWS

An aphorism (n.) is a pithy observation which contains a general truth. 'All my teachers have been women. Though several men have ta ken me aside for an hour to tell me things they know'. The Book of Shadows contains several hundred reflections and aphorisms on lov e, God, art, sex, death, work, and the spirit, imagination and conduct of the human animal. Writing with the same mixture of high se riousness, dark humour and lyric precision that define his poetry, Don Paterson has made a book to carry everywhere and open ...