In Defence of Adultery

The poems in Julia Copus's second collection are imbued with a wry logic and spellbinding resonance. They infuse us with primal stirrings as we read them, sharing in her unease and anxiety but also enlivened by a thrilling sense of personal recognition. They trace the paths of lives and relationships through a world carved out by the choices we make. At the same time, they summon up another world beneath our ever-pressing turmoil of love and family relationships, a parallel world made up of what might have been, as well as what might still be. These strong and vital poems hold science and art, time and timelessness in a tense balance. Dense, elliptical, and suggestive, they throw down a challenge to readers, urging us to be constantly on the move rather than stand still and stagnate.