Egg Island Almanac (INSCRIBED COPY)
by: Galvin, Brendan

Softcover. Carbondale IL, Southern Illinois University Press, 1st, 2017, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 62 pages. INSCRIBED BY GALVIN on the title page. These poems chronicle the waxing and waning of the seasons from one winter to the next in the area around Egg Island, the dunes near a small seacoast town on the outermost reaches of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Galvin's training as a naturalist and environmental writer is evident as his practiced eye roves the waves, marshes, and forests, finding meaning and beauty in the smallest detail-- bird-watching, rebuilding a woodpile, or the flight of bobwhite quail. Other poems recall the poet's affectionate memories of his deceased wife and the life they shared together, acknowledging grief without veering into the maudlin. Always present beneath the surface is the question of where humans fit into this wild, ever-changing landscape. Mild crease to front cover otherwise a clean, bright copy.