Out now

Loss, legacy, fatherhood, relationships, mental health and the natural world intertwine across this first full collection from poet, nonfiction author and activist, David Gilbert. The Rare Bird Recovery Protocol explores the fragilities and epiphanies of a life lived with all the senses open. Lucid and achingly poignant, there is nonetheless a thread of strength, as strong and elastic as spider-silk, running through these poems. These accessible, humane poems are layered with meaning that resonates after reading, demanding to be returned to.

David Gilbert's first full-length collection displays an extraordinary scope and variety … Consistent throughout is his deftness of touch: he is a poet who knows how much to put in and to leave out; a poet who has clearly looked deep within himself … My enjoyment of this book is the constant awareness that I'm in the hands of a writer who has practised his art over many years.

Rober Vas Dias

Author biography