Poems range from elegies to the poet's father and close friends, to reflections on middle-age, the conflicts in a long marriage, and meditations on the lot of refugeesConfronts the encroachments of old age with a wry acceptance of human diminishingA legendary performer of her own work and work in translationElaine's themes often centre around Jewishness and her cultural heritageShe has her own website here http://www.elainefeinstein.com/She is Ted Hughes' biographerGetting older is universal - many readers can relateWomen will recognise many of the situations touched on in the book

Elaine Feinstein's poems are the harvest of a lifetime in literature. This selection, made by the author herself, gathers work from over half a century of published writing, and is completed by a section of new poems.The selection ranges from early poems of feminist rebellion and tender observation of children to elegies for the poet's father and close friends, reflections on middle-age, the conflicts in a long marriage, and meditations on the lot of refugees. In new poems Feinstein records her treatment for cancer, her feelings of dread in the clinic and unexpected moments of 'extravagant happiness'. The exploration of memory is at once a source of ironic amusement and an acknowledgement of human transience.