In these forty-two poems, Robin Robertson demonstrates an astonishing range of style and concerns, in a voice that is utterly original. Whether he is rendering a dramatic new version of Ovid (The Flaying of Marsyas) or celebrating the ambiguous pleasures of food (Artichoke), Robertson’s poetry is always lucid, sensuous, and compelling. These are poems that speak of the wounds of memory, the implacable coupling of desire and loss, the fugitive nature of things. Elegant and profound, A Painted Field has proved a stunning debut.