This collection of light verse has been put together in a successful collaboration between husband and wife, Keith and Elizabeth Stanley–Mallett.

In this sequel to his previous anthology, Under An Indigo Moon, Keith once again expresses his thoughts in his own individual, but subtly changed, style of writing. It is important, he believes, that his poetry should be easily read but powerful enough to communicate his opinions and views.

Elizabeth’s poems, which complement those of her husband, are her first works to be published, clearly affirming her emotions and impressions of life around her.

While reading this treasury of poetic compositions one is able to understand and, perhaps, agree with many of the sentiments voiced by both authors as attitudes and descriptions are written in vivid and familiar detail.

Keith and Elizabeth are part of a well–suited union, which is ably summed up by Elizabeth in the last stanza of her poem ‘Our Team of Two’:

Our team of two has projects new

That we will keep alive,

With love and trust we soldier on

Together we’ll survive.

ISBN 978–0–7223–3975–6

Casebound – 170 pages

A review by Julie Leeming

When this book of poems was recommended to me, I was not sure what to expect. Poetry would not usually be my first choice of reading material. However, I decided to purchase this book to see if somebody like, myself, with a limited knowledge of poetry as a whole, would enjoy reading a book of poems. From the beginning I found the verses easy to read and understand, in fact from the first turn of the page I was hooked and I especially liked the contemporary way in which they are written.It is really 2 books in one. Part One is written by Keith Stanley–Mallet and Part Two by his wife, Elizabeth Stanley–Mallet which are the first ones she has had published. Both authors write in a very personal way and convey many of their beliefs, views and concerns on what is going on around us in the world today. Keith writes about many topics – from nature to politics, and has a particular fascination about the universe, and life itself, as can be seen in The Creator and The Destroyer, So Short a Time and Beyond the Yonder – just to name a few. Of all the poems in the first section, Asleep is the one that I have found myself reading over and over again.The second section, by Elizabeth Stanley–Mallet is just as enjoyable and she too covers many different subjects, from friendship and family to war. Again, like Keith she writes about our existence on this planet as in The Beginning of Space–Time and Man and Does Life Go On?There is something for everybody in this book and I would highly recommend it.