Awards: 2005 Atlantic poetry prize Finalist

Covenant of Salt, Robin McGrath’s second book of poetry, comes out of the Newfoundland oral tradition. These lyrical narratives bring the voice of the poet to life on the page, tilting and bending the language into surprising and often ironic shapes that have as much to do with the bardic tradition as with modern poetics. Whether singing the praises of the hills of St. John’s or intoning the catechism of chickens, McGrath reaches back into her Newfoundland roots to find the words that speak directly to the ear, the eye, and the heart.