Darwin's Circus

In his second collection of works, Edward Fisher is at his rhapsodic best again, full of rhythmic surprise and lyrical freshness as he wrestles with the intermingling mysteries of love and death. Ordinary experience becomes a gateway to revelation through the miracle and adventure of the senses in a celebration of the natural world. The merry-go-round of the planet, dancing with animals, revolves in a circle of self-discovery, eternal renewal and metamorphosis. This festive air of child-like wonder and simple joy is set against the backdrop of the passing seasons and a sense of personal loss, plumbing the darker side of suffering that deepens our humanity and compassion. At once both testament and meditation, hymn and psalm, Fisher explores the universality of sacred stories, reconciling the scientific world-view with religious symbol and myth, and finding meaning in the guiding hand of love through the geography of longing and lament.