The Brevity of Red

Sheila Martindale is poetry editor of Canadian Author and Bookman and
the author of No Greater Love.

Integument, helices, chaconne, manumission—these are just some of the
words I had to look up when reading this book, so we know we are dealing
with an erudite poet. This is not to say that the poems are obscure, but
rather that they are profound. MacLean writes about the natural world,
and the reader can learn much here about flora and fauna. She also
chronicles her grief on the death of her sister and later of her teenage
daughter in poems that are neither maudlin nor angry as she seeks to
come to terms with loss. There are other family poems, some interesting
historical pieces, and a couple of beautiful haiku.

MacLean is a poet who writes with grace and elegance, and who invites
the reader in rather than flinging her writing out. She draws her images
from both the places she has lived (England, the Maritimes, and
Winnipeg) and her own interior landscape. This is a thoughtful
collection, from a wise writer with a mature style.