Nigel Gerrans' eclectic spiritual poetry, first collected in 2009's Tenebrae, has earned deserved plaudits for its intensity of feeling and richness of imagery and language. A Visit to the Art Gallery offers a new selection, drawing on the poet's remarkable life experience to present twenty-four dazzling portraits, landscapes and memories, composed over six decades and published here for the first time.
This edition also includes a complete, revised text of Song Sequence, a twenty-six poem cycle intended for performance by four voices, as well as its sister work Chorale, a dialogue where priest and poet debate their seemingly irreconcileable vocations. These are surrounded by the exhibitions in the 'art gallery' itself, each a breathless and stunning piece of art in its own right; together, a must-own volume by an extraordinary poetic talent.
"Thoughtful, caring and meaningful."
Brian Wilcox
"An amazing diversity of topic and style... both intelligent and compassionate."
Rosie Larner
Nigel Gerrans was born in Surrey in 1931. He studied Modern Languages at Cambridge, after which he spent several years teaching in a school for cerebral palsied children. He later worked as a filmmaker for the pharmaceutical and agricultural industries, before taking ordination as a priest and serving as full-time Hospital Chaplain in a busy District General Hospital.He is now retired and lives in Scarborough, North Yorkshire.