Bryan Aspden’s second collection crosses Western Europe in its search for individuality in the face of an increasingly bureaucratic world. In the wake of Chernobyl, the rise of consumerism and mass media, and in the breaking down of national barriers he looks to the diverse cultures of Wales, France and Spain for an affirmation of identity in the shadow of bland universalism.

The poet’s love of painting and literature become ways forward to survival, and the starting points for much of the work in Blind Man’s Meal. Aspden’s poems are eclectic and alert to ordinary life, as well as to wider historical and cultural matters. Witty and rich in imagery, they are marked by a deceptive depth, particularly in the long sequences which comprise much of this book. Its three sections, discrete yet cohering, mark a new ambition in scope for the poet.