Spells for Clear Vision

"I believe in the common magic/ of forests and household gods" writes Neile Graham in "Spells for Clear Vision," the title poem of this volume. And it is a common magic which she works in this poetry of delicate attentions. Graham writes about trying to see clearly, about trying to articulate ways of living in a modern, often blinding world. Meditative, individual and ever-open to the intricate and shifting world around her, Graham's is a pensive and a thoughtful eye. Her poetry thinks through and with sight; it turns on a perceptiveness which is at once sensual and quietly, accessibly, intelletual. How Graham sees her world will alter how we see ours.

Winnipeg-born Neile Graham was living in British Columbia, Washington State and western Montana while writing Spells for Clear Vision. Her first book, Seven Robins, appeared in 1983. Her work has appeared in numerous journals, including Canadian Literature, Calyx, The Dalhousie Review, Descant, Quarry, and Wot.