A Village Life by Louise Gluck

The poems in this collection are set in a timeless Mediterranean village in the hills, not too close to the sea. There's a fountain in the plaza, a cafe, a bar, a catholic church. Figs and olives and wheat grow there. We step into the simple homes; kitchens, bedrooms, corridors. Moments are calmly examined. Joy, love, sadness and loneliness are details in the greater cycle of the seasons; what it feels like to be human is contrasted with the geography of a place. Louise Gluck is an award-winning American poet and this book is a treasure.