Well known for the fierce confessional imagery of her first three books, The Treekeeper's Tale points towards another facet of this poet's gift: an intense feeling for the natural world, allied with a personal response to historical incidents and to other lands. The title section of this four-part collection adopts the giant coast redwood trees of California as a particular talisman. Lyrical, resonant, strange and imaginative, these poems echo in the mind and leave an indelible impression of the mysterious atmosphere of the redwood forests. The second section, `Afterlives', takes us on journeys to the past, as in the burial of a Siberian priestess, and on trips to other places including China, Nepal and Kazakhstan. The colourful paintings of the German expressionist Franz Marc provide the key to the third section, `War Horse', where dramatic imagery of the horses blends and contrasts with the fate of Europe during World War One. Finally, `The Chrysanthemum Lantern' features sensitive translations from Chinese originals.