This book melds the poetry of the late D.J. O’Sullivan with the photographic images of Sheena Jolley – it’s a very successful and satisfying combination. O’Sullivan died in 1993 and, I have to confess, his name meant nothing to me but I learn he was a lighthouse keeper with an eye for wildlife and a pen for poetry and short stories. He added Madeiran Petrel to the Irish list (a lighthouse keeper’s perk!) and Faber published his book of poems, Light-keeper’s Lyrics in 1947.
I was pleased to be introduced to his poems through this book. They are well-observed of nature and beautifully expressed.
The photographs are very fine accompaniments to the words. There are lots of seabirds and some sea mammals, as well as a smattering of the species one finds on small islands. They are uniformly of a high quality.
The poet and the photographer have each proved in their words and images that they have looked closely at nature and understood it.
It is fitting that a book so secured to the coast has the finest words I’ve ever seen about the Rock Pipit (a much under-rated bird, I feel) accompanied by an image so good that were I a better entomologist I might be able to identify the prey in the bird’s beak.
This is a simply lovely book – both to read and to admire.
The cover? It’s as gorgeous as most of the images inside the book and so gives a very fair impression of what is to come. I’d give it 9/10.
On Land and Water: Irish wildlife through image and poetry by Sheena Jolley and D. J. O’Sullivan is published by Menma books.
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