Rosenblatt's poetic aim is to elevate consciousness by means of language; and he sees the poet's role as élitist and somewhat akin to that of the medicine man. His chief interest is in concentrated, mystical poetry in which timeless symbols dominate. Poetry, he believes, must fulfil a tribal ritual in which religion, magic and esthetics play a part. All of this isolates him from a good deal of comtemporary poetry which is so often anecdotal, political or merely self-regarding. The chief influences in his development have been Emily Dickinson, Blake, Lorca, Dylan Thomas and Housman.

A part of Rosenblatt's imagination is fascinated by the world of the primeval swamp, a dark world of palm and fern, where toads, birds and fish live out their shadowed lives…. It's a world of menace that glints in daylight mists and glows in eerie starlight.

This is a world that provides him...