Errata (Oxford Poets)

In his second collection, Errata, Michael Donaghy continues to explore the twin themes of love and the reproduced error. Particularly compelling is "O'Ryan's Belt," a sequence of poems dedicated to forgotten musicians that charts the spiritual geography of the oral tradition from rural Ireland to the slums of Athens, New York, and Chicago. Written in meticulously wrought lyrics, Errata features several bizarre narratives detailing, for instance, the revenge of a Renaissance metalsmith, the disgrace of an eleventh-century Japanese courtesan, and the disappearance of a Victorian Admiral.