The White Silhouette

At the heart of James Harpur’s The White Silhouette is a meditative poem inspired by the Book of Kells—a poem that follows threads into themes such as the nature of the divine, the efficacy of sacred art, and the way of silence. The title poem—described in the TLS as a "compelling spiritual memoir"—is a haunting journey of "missed encounters" in the landscapes of Wiltshire, Tipperary, and Patmos. Elsewhere, Harpur writes about pilgrimage, the Perseids, mystical experiences, and icons and iconoclasm—from Rublev’s golden images to decapitated angels in Galway. He complements his explorations of the sacred with more directly personal poems, including elegies and elegiac translations from Homer and Horace.

Harpur’s poetry is distinguished by its lyric grace and mythohistorical resonance. The musical texture of his lines conveys the warmth, clarity and intimacy of a voice exploring the mysteries of natural, human, and metaphysical worlds. The White Silhouette is the richest summation of his spiritual journey to date.

James Harpur has had five poetry collections published by Anvil Press and is poetry editor of the Temenos Academy Review and a member of Aosdána, the Irish academy of the arts. His Angels and Harvesters (2012) was a PBS Recommendation and shortlisted for the 2013 Irish Times Poetry Now Award; and The Dark Age (2007) won the Michael Hartnett Poetry Award. Other prizes and awards include the UK National Poetry Competition, the Vincent Buckley Poetry Prize, an Eric Gregory Award, and a Patrick and Katherine Kavanagh Fellowship. His other books include Fortune’s Prisoner, a translation of the poems of Boethius; and The Gospel of Joseph of Arimathea. He lives in West Cork.