Oleander (Paperback)

With Oleander, her fourth collection, Zerbst further establishes the sense that the poetic is her métier. Her poetry draws on its ancient lyric roots, unafraid to sing or lament, unashamed to be poetry. Zerbst refreshes a tradition of lyric poetry without gimmicks or recourse to exercises in form; rather, she achieves this by staying true to the spirit of the tradition, thus staying true to her métier. The poems in this collection explore life's complexities, both beautiful and poisonous – love, death, art, the aftermath of war and genocide, travel, religion, revelation. More wide-ranging than Zerbst's previous volumes, Oleander charts experiences through which the self may be transformed.