Chris Orsman

A book of poems following chronologically the Terra Nova expedition from New Zealand to its tragic conclusion. The events may be familiar from numerous other sources, but the treatment is new, poetry giving one more pause to reflect, especially on the imagery of the place. In particular, the most successful part of the book deal with Pontings photography, so this is perhaps not surprising.

The book is prefaced with an account of the author's grandfather winning a polar raffle, the echoed later in the poetry as the men are chosen to maknethe final assault on the pole.… (more)

At the core of Chris Orsman's third poetry collection are two long sequences, "The Lakes of Mars" and "The Book of the Dead", both set in Antarctica. Chris Orsman's visit to the ice in 1998 as part of New Zealand's excellent Artists to Antarctica scheme has had a profound effect on his work, as his second collection also dealt with Antarctica.

These are fine, well-constructed, carefully-weighted poems. Chris Orsman has a sombre, thoughtful, reflective poetic voice. That makes for a coherent collection, and works especially well for the Antarctic sequences, but I would have appreciated a little more variety in tone and approach in the individual poems that make up the first half of the book.

Still, Chris Orsman does what he does very well. Even if you're not normally into poetry, but like Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars and Antarctica books, then I recommend that you give "The Lakes of Mars" a try.… (more)