Occasional

The many lovers of Owen Marshall's fiction will not be surprised to find, in his first collection of poems, the same sureness of touch, the familiar wry wit and compassion, the oblique and often startling perspectives on the apparently ordinary. The fifty poems that make up Occasional mark a wide range of events, some small (though never trivial), some larger. There are many delights, from the moving poems in honor of Bill Sewell and Janet Frame, to pieces that draw their strength and inspiration from family , to celebrations and evocations of well-loved landscape, all explored with distinctive clarity of thought and phrase. Occasional is a natural companion to Marshall's short stories and novels, providing further evidence of his superb writing skills and versitility.