The Secret is a book of mystery and magic. Opening on familiar ground - retelling stories from the Bible, Celtic mythology, small-town rumours and urban mythologies - it gradually moves beyond its borders to narratives of Central America, drawing on figures such as the Spanish conquistador, Hernán Cortés, and the Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo.

Cyfrol sy'n llawn swyn a dirgelwch. Egyr y llyfr gyda straeon cyfarwydd o'r Beibl, o fytholeg Geltaidd, straeon a chlecs trefol. Ond mae'n symud yn raddol oddi wrth y ffiniau hynny i straeon o Ganolbarth America, gan roi sylw i ffigurau o Sbaen a Mexico.

This first collection by award-winning south-Walian poet Zoë Brigley is in three parts. In the first, ‘The Lesser Secrets’, 21 poems are linked to cards of the Tarot pack. In the second, ‘The Greater Secrets’, the 20 poems are linked to symbols of the Aztec calendar. The final part, ‘The Curse of the Long-tailed Bird’, is a sort of verse drama which interweaves the myth of Blue-beard with the story of Cortez in Mexico and his Mexican 'wife' and translator called La Malinche.

‘The Lesser Secrets’ are rooted in Wales, though they range from the domesticity of making a cup of chocolate, through family memories of WW2 to Welsh wars and mythic figures from the Mabinogion. They shuttle constantly between worlds and between languages, touching the unease of not quite belonging to either. Her language can be simple as in the memoir ‘My Grandfather’ or as opaque as the nightmare ‘The Jewelbox’ but in all there is the sense of mystery and hidden lives beneath the surface normality. The world-shaped poem ‘Trade’ leads into the second section which is inspired by her visit and studies in Mexico, but the Welsh connection is not lost, Wales is felt as 'uneasy annexe' to England, being 'between two continents'. Magic is not only in the mysteries of the Aztecs but in the old stories of witches on ‘Meon Hill’. She draws on poetry from all three 'worlds' and the influence of Eliot is clear from the beginning, but hers is a very original and uncompromising voice. The density and many layers of her imagery and allusions make few concessions to the reader (though there are notes to translate the Welsh). Secrets are not meant to be revealed all at once, or, in some cases, ever. Some are buried in the depths of time, obliterated history, lost languages; some in the individual psyche. This sense of depth and suggestion is present in most of the collection but the book is also a display of Brigley's polished skill in handling a wide variety of verse forms.

The final part, ‘The Curse of the Long-tailed Bird’, has an almost operatic form (it was connected with Bartok's opera on Blue-beard), with strange dialogues between Cortez and La Malinche which follow not only the horrors of the Spanish conquest but also subsequent exploitation and torment in South America. Sometimes they recall the surreal poetic dramas of Lorca but the final poem draws it all together in a powerful ballad of revelation and revenge.

Caroline Clark

It is possible to use this review for promotional purposes, but the following acknowledgment should be included: A review from www.gwales.com, with the permission of the Welsh Books Council.

Gellir defnyddio'r adolygiad hwn at bwrpas hybu, ond gofynnir i chi gynnwys y gydnabyddiaeth ganlynol: Adolygiad oddi ar www.gwales.com, trwy ganiatâd Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru.