THE CAIPLIE CAVES

Griffin Poetry Prize winner Karen Solie's new collection interrogates violence, power, economies, self-delusion, and belief in poems that orbit the Caves of Caiplie on the coast of Scotland.

In the seventh century, on the coast of Fife, Scotland, an Irish missionary named Ethernan withdrew to a cave in order to decide whether to establish a priory on May Island, directly opposite, in the Firth of Forth, or pursue a hermit's solitude. Around passages informed by Ethernan's story are poems that orbit the geographical location of the caves but that range through the ages, addressing violence, power, work, economies, self-delusion, and belief. Indecision and necessity are inseparable companions. As are the prospect of error and regret.

Karen Solie is one of the most acclaimed poets currently producing work in Canada. Solie has won virtually every major Canadian award for her poetry - including the Griffin Poetry Prize, the Pat Lowther Memorial Prize, and the Trillium Book Award - and is widely considered to be the best lyric poet of her generation.