The language of Paul Hyland's poetry is hard-edged, yet tenderly applied. In Kicking Sawdust, his third collection from Bloodaxe, he turns up the contrast in poems both lighter and darker than before. Critics and readers celebrated the power and subtlety of his earlier books, the inventiveness of his music, the variety of his forms, and - above all - the integrity of his vision. The title-sequence of this new collection is deceptively light, putting words into the mouths of performers who spend their lives kicking sawdust. Hyland doesn't put a foot wrong: his voice is unmistakable, its energy and wit committed to sensuous, serious, playful exploration of the world.