Lines Off

Catching a sudden look of defiance from his granddaughter inspires Hugo Williams to take up his pen and write this deeply moving new collection of poetry, the first since “I Knew the Bride” (2014). He navigates assuredly from thoughtful reminiscences of childhood and accounts of the war, through various climes and sensitively drawn relationships, to grim humour in the hospital ward and growing older with its attendant doubts and disappearances. The collection retains the same mischief, frankness and joie-de-vivre that have earned Williams so much praise and readership.