Romance: The Only Life by poet Kevin McGrath, published by Saint Julian Press, unfolds like a whispered conversation between the poet and the ineffable. The collection takes a contemplative approach to the notion of romance-not merely as a sentiment reserved for lovers, but as an elemental force, shaping the way we move through the world. The book's title suggests that romance, in all its sprawling meanings, might just be the central current that makes life worth living.
Divided into a series of compact, numbered poems, Romance resists the temptation to over-explain or embellish. The poems, often spare in language, invite the reader to pause, to reflect, and to find resonance in what is unsaid. There's a quiet power in this restraint, as the collection meanders through themes of connection, spirituality, and the sensuality of existence, offering glimpses rather than declarations. Each poem, pared down to its essential elements, feels like a small meditation-on a moment, a relationship, a thought.
This is not a book of love poems, at least not in the conventional sense. The romance here is larger, encompassing our relationship with nature, with the divine, with the self. It's the romance of being alive, of noticing, of breathing into the spaces where life unfolds unexpectedly. These poems suggest that romance is not something we find; it is something we cultivate, an ethos to carry through the day.
And yet, there is intimacy here. The poet speaks directly, as if leaning in, revealing these truths with a delicate touch. There is no grandiosity, no sweeping declarations, just the simple act of observing the world with an open heart. It's an invitation to the reader: to slow down, to listen more closely, to rediscover the beauty in the ordinary.
For readers accustomed to poetry that drips with overt emotion or elaborate form, Romance: The Only Life may feel like a reprieve. Its understated style allows for a deeper engagement with the subject matter, as though each poem is merely a doorway to something much larger-a feeling, a memory, a revelation. It is a book that doesn't ask to be understood so much as experienced.
In the end, Romance offers its readers a gift: a chance to find the extraordinary in the everyday, to see romance as a way of being rather than an outcome to chase. It is a quiet, beautiful collection that speaks to those who understand that the most profound connections often arise from the simplest moments.
Kevin McGRATH was born in southern China in 1951 and was educated in England and Scotland; he has lived and worked in France, Greece, and India. He was an associate of the Department of South Asian Studies and poet laureate at Lowell House, Harvard University.Publications include, Fame (1995), Lioness (1998), Maleas (2002), The Sanskrit Hero (2004), Flyer (2005), Comedia (2008), Stri (2009), Jaya (2011), Supernature (2012), Heroic Krsna and Eroica (2013), In The Kacch and Windward (2015), Arjuna Pandava and Eros (2016), Raja Yudhisthira (2017), Bhisma Devavrata (2018), Vyasa Redux (2019), Song Of The Republic (2020), Fame (2023), On Friendship (2024) and Causality In Preliterate Song (forthcoming, 2025). McGrath lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with his family.
