Eleonora Court's review of Luminous Bodies, published in 40 Degrees South n.25.

It's hard to believe this is Charlton's first book of poetry; he sees with the practiced eye of an expert plein-air artist. He captures and distils fleeting nuances of the natural world, rendering his word pictures with the spidery delicacy of pen and ink drawings.
Yet others are imbued with the Fauvist's palette of wilder emotions - that 'infrangible desire'of the title poem Luminous Bodies, or the white-hot indignation that percolates through Koonya and To Governor George Arthur in Heaven.
Ever present for Charlton is the metaphysical dimension. In the torch-beam of his gaze, luminescent fungi of One Light, Many Lamps emit a numinous glow as the physical transmogrifies into palpable evidence of a spiritual reality, intensely felt.

More reviews: Anne Kellas |: Judith Beveridge |: Dr Anuraag Sharma |: Tim Thorne |: Eleanora Court

© James Charlton