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A clod of earth speaks; a pipe sings; a chair dreams itself into being . . . These are some of the presences in Gregory OBriens new collection. At the same time the book gathers together disparate voices, it charts both geographical and emotional territories. The poems propose a very personal map of New Zealand from Waiheke Island to Dunedin, via the Waihi Beach Dump and the storm-water system beneath Wellington. Elsewhere, Afternoon of an Evening Train takes in a few locations in Southern Europe before arriving at the Taranaki settlement of Parihaka . . .
For OBrien, the poem can be a rambling sideshow, a busy intersection, a crowded room or a cathedral. His verse is an exhilarating form of commuter-traffic by foot, road, air or rail between the known and unknown worlds.
Praise for Afternoon of an Evening Train
NAMED ONE OF THE NZ HERALD'S "BOOKS OF THE YEAR"
These new poems are enthusiastic and impressive. ...Afternoon of an Evening Train is a magical little book. Hamesh Wyatt OTAGO DAILY TIMES
Afternoon of an Evening Train is a superb collection from Gregory O'Brien. ...The best of these poems are smart and exacting. Grab a copy, peer into them, revel, marvel, take them to heart, dance to them even?
Graham Lindsay DOMINION POST
