Poems

Poetry is a “still living whole/to heal the heart and cure the soul.”
—Derek Mahon

Following many years of academic writing on dance and philosophy Anne Shivas returned to her love of poetry while living in Israel in the 1990’s.

Of her own work Shivas says “My poetry is celebratory in nature and owes something to the Gaelic tradition of praise poetry; each poem is in praise of the everyday wonder and deep mystery of it all.”

To read a poet's words is to be drawn into a unique moral and aesthetic perspective on the poem's subject. It is particular in an age of generalities, complex in an age of simplification and life enhancing in an age of nihilism. At a time when feelings are given short shrift poetry matters more than ever to restore our alertness to the world.

Shivas’ poems have appeared in various literary journals and anthologies, including Across Borders, Causeway, Northwords Now, Lallans, Voices Israel, Determinations 2, Inspired, Get Writing, Osher Anthology 2016 and From the Lighthouse.


PHOTO:  SUNSET, FIRTH OF FORTH, ANNE SHIVAS

​"Fou with words, Anne Shivas code-switches and chimes syllables to replicate 'the rhythms of my ancestors,' those Scots who gifted her with 'an inborn, untaught / way to talk.' With rippling, elemental imagery, deep pleasure in naming, and a sense of home that remains unabashedly 'off- centre,' Whit Grace is a debut of clear-eyed and richly musical wonders."  -Michael Waters