The Vast Extent

'[Greenlaw] wields her erudition lightly.' Sunday Times

'Remarkable, visionary.' CELIA PAUL

'Indescribably brilliant.' Daily Telegraph

'Kaleidoscopic.' Guardian

'A rare pleasure . . . rewarding and thought-provoking.' Irish Times


From the celebrated poet, novelist and memoirist, The Vast Extent is a constellation of "exploded essays" about light and image, seeing and the unseen. Each is a record of how thought builds and ideas emerge, aligning art, myth, strange voyages and scientific scrutiny with a poet's response so that they cast light upon each other.


In this original and illuminating work, Lavinia Greenlaw invites us to observe our world and beyond with a new sensitivity.