Perceptive, persuasive and intricately patterned, the poems of Kate Bingham's third collection, Infragreen, take the reader on a startling and intimate journey through everyday experiences and phenomena. Her keen eye, reflectiveness and quiet wit endow her subjects with a shimmering freshness. 'A revelation to me this year was the work of Kate Bingham, whose second collection, Quicksand Beach, shows a poet already in complete command of her voice and of her form. Spry, witty, gently cynical, her talking lyrics about love and domestic life are a pure pleasure to read; and she has a breathtakingly acute ear. I read most of a sestina without even noticing that it was a sestina. That's craft.' The Telegraph, books of the year 2006 'Kate Bingham's Quicksand Beach, shortlisted for the Forward Prize, offers an urgent interrogation of the ways in which we love - as parents and children, husbands and wives. Her command of form is enviable and her grasp of subject-matter complete.' The Guardian 'Bingham has the unusual ability to write convincingly and infectiously about happiness - the happiness of family and parenthood.' Sunday Times 'There's something profoundly English about these intelligent, technically accomplished poems: understated, almost self-deprecating, but subtly rewarding.' Financial Times, Picks of the Year 2006 'Her poetry possesses a hushed power; a charm that creeps up on you, catching you unawares.' Poetry Wales
