Russell Jones, well known to those of us on the Edinburgh poetry scene, has reviewed The Ambulance Box on his blog. It’s a balanced, insightful review, with some really interesting things to say about, for instance, the role of the land in the book’s poems.

I take on board the following criticism:

the formal structure of The Ambulance Box is not without its flaws: it too frequently reverts to two-line stanza structures which, although give a sense of prolonged and sustained theme, eventually lose their spark. This is the poet returning to what he knows and what he is good at yet it sometimes feels as though he is resting on his laurels.

It may interest Russell to know that, aware of its limitations, I’ve been making a effort to move away from that structure. (I certainly hope the results of that effort please my audience and readers.)

Anyway, do go and read the review. It did what a good review perhaps should do for a writer: helped me to see my own work afresh.