The Vastness of the Sky

Musing on a vast sky, studded with bright stars or a cloudless, blue expanse of summer sky is a sure-fired inspiration for poetry. In The Vastness of the Sky, Sheila Schofield Large shows just how much influence the sky has. From the mystery of the seal-woman leaving behind the grey silk of dusk, to the wonder of the planets in winter and the wistful sense of loss, felt twice near Chartres cathedral, this second collection takes us on a poetic sky-ride through life, loss and love.

The author introduces her book with Yeats's time-honoured Aedh Asks for the Cloths of Heaven, hinting at the celestial journey that awaits within. Reflections by Joni Mitchell, Christina Rossetti and Edward Lear set up each of its three sections.

Following warnings made in her first collection, the author continues her quest against xenophobia, inequality and war, yet manages not to sink into polemic rage. An attack on the UK's divorce from Europe is softened by the nostalgic trip of youth and remains optimistic with its parting appeal for reunion. And a warning to a bad-tempered despot leads to an imagined demise that could have saved history from evil.

Forced marriage, military desertion and domestic abuse are handled with a satirical touch that does not diminish their serious nature. A light-hearted tribute to Robert Graves points to the foibles of men and a personal observation to one of society's many weaknesses. The book ends with a celebration of difference and the true beauty to be found in unity.

This is a small collection that asks questions and suggests answers; that offers warnings and promises hope in equal measure; that contains all the variety of the vast sky throughout the seasons and across the universe. The reader has but to turn their eyes to the heavens to experience the inspirations behind the glimpses in The Vastness of the Sky of a world fraught with danger yet full of hope.