A collection of poems. Preserved traces of things - forms, language, memory - are what inform many of the poems in The Fossil-box. The volume is fascinated by the urgency of ground and belonging. Several pieces focus on the land and seascapes around the author's home in Wales.

Casgliad o gerddi a ysbrydolwyd gan olion - olion patrymau, iaith a chof. Y mae elfen gref o'r syniad o wreiddiau a pherthyn yn treiddio drwy'r cerddi, ac mae llawer ohonynt yn canolbwyntio ar y tirlun a'r morlun o gwmpas cartref yr awdur yng Nghymru.

This exciting collection from Richard Marggraf Turley is vibrant and imaginative. The Fossil Box is an exploration in poetry of the areas which are familiar to the poet, Ceredigion in west Wales and the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, both areas of outstanding natural beauty and historical richness.

There is an elegance in his approach and style as he focuses sometimes on the micro world of nature – as in ‘Berries’ or ‘The Blue Tit’. He describes the jellyfish in ‘Sea Jellies’ cleverly as ‘the colour of cataracts’. Each poem is jewel-like in its structure and content – an example of this quality is ‘Sunbreak’ or the title poem, ‘The Fossil-Box’, where he uses neat phrases to capture time passing.

His focus shifts into a historical context in later poems such as ‘The Raid’, which focuses on wartime events in France – again his subject and language is specific and neatly constructed – and in his ‘Giants’ series and ‘Seven Bridges of Könisberg’. There is a feeling of having stepped into many different worlds in these poems and staying to observe the unfolding events.

This is a collection to be valued and enjoyed for the skill and resonant quality of the poems. It has a rich atmosphere, full of life and beauty.

Clare Maynard

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.