Hurt Thyself

Andrew Steinmetz's second collection of poetry turns a clinical eye on his favourite subjects - love, marriage, power, fantasy, and art. At the crossroads of the credos "know thyself" and "heal thyself," Steinmetz adopts a "hurt thyself" attitude that is sardonic and compassionate. Using a tersely sensitive language that relies on the poet's own speaking voice, Hurt Thyself betrays a slightly ominous and skewed philosophical rigor. The implications of the poet's examined life are poems that feel emotionally exposed yet discriminating and sceptical.