Lindsay Wood

Having delved into Denys Trussell's poetry over many years, I shouldn't have been surprised at the power and substance of "By Sea Mouths Speaking". But I was, hugely. This wonderful volume of collected works, mostly poems, is testimony to Trussell's massive and lengthy commitment to fine writing and to the natural environment, while at the same time offering us myriad insights into the human condition. Trussell's poetry is profound in every sense. The wisdom he displays is backed by impressive scholarship, and these are in turn well-matched by his fine command of language and poetic form. This literary tour de force is charged with delightful and evocative imagery that presents us simultaneously with deep insight, linguistic surprise, and intellectual challenge. Through "By Sea Mouths Speaking", Denys Trussell makes a distinctive and important contribution to New Zealand literature and to our environmental thinking.