(Indigo Dreams Publishing)
ISBN-10: 1907401911
Mary Smith’s first full length collection of poetry covers conflict in Afghanistan to memories of childhood with much in between. The poems in this collection explore wide ranging themes of homeland, identity, family. A strong sense of place is evoked whether that place is Afghanistan where people live with war as a constant backdrop to their lives, or Scotland. Characters such as the forestry worker in Galloway, boys with their flocks of sheep on Afghanistan s high pastures, freedom fighters, mothers and sons, demonstrate common concerns which connect us all. There is, too, a sense of how landscape shapes identities and creates connections.
“Mary Smith’s poems are trim and supple. They have to be because their missions cover many landscapes – from the wilds of South West Scotland to the dramatic – and peopled – landscapes of Afghanistan. Her poetry is immediate and vivid…poetry that remembers cruelty and humiliation but which remains measured and humane.”
Tom Pow
 | Mary SmithMary Smith worked for ten years in Pakistan and Afghanistan before returning to Scotland. She writes fiction, non-fiction and poetry and is a freelance journalist. |
