Witch in the Bushes - Rita Ann Higgins

"Galway-born Rita Ann Higgins has come from outside the establishment to make her statements for all those who are waiting to hear. Exposing the lies, the posturing and petty cruelties of the powerful, these poems tear away the shameful veils of hypocrisy to bite deep into the very bones of contemporary Irish society. Nothing, or no one, is sacred for Rita Ann Higgins. Utterly without artifice or pretension, her voice is at once strong, angry and acid sharp. These are poems of survival and resistance, for a time in which both are difficult."Ailbhe Smyth"There are not many books of poetry of which I can say that I can remember the day, the month, the year when I read them. Rita Ann Higgins's Goddess on the Mervue Bus was such a book. It was a cold dark winter's day when I read it and it lit a fire in my heart. To me Rita Ann Higgins means a unique line in human warmth; and a unique colour of humour and a unique clarity."Paul DurcanRita Ann Higgins's strong, clear poetic voice has challenged and revitalised literary norms throughout her long and distinguished career. With her first publication, Goddess on the Mervue Bus (Salmon, 1986), she was instantly recognised as a powerful force for change. Witch in the Bushes (Salmon, 1988), followed in 1992 by the first edition of Philomena's Revenge, established her solidly in the public mind. Higher Purchase was Rita's fourth collection to be published by Salmon Poetry.