Radiance

Radiance is a book firmly grounded in the reality of contemporary life, yet lit by empathy and humour. Kissane ranges from the self-immolation of a Buddhist monk to a sailing trip on Sydney harbour with Percy Shelley to the celebration of an enduring relationship with The Moon. Lyrical, moving and surprising, these poems are warm and shining creations.

This is daring and imaginative poetry. The poems in Radiance are clever, funny, tender and knowledgeable with an uncluttered clarity of thought and feeling that is very appealing. They are unafraid to go where they need to go. The last long sequence is a delight. - Brook Emery

It’s rare for such empathy to coexist with supple poetics of this calibre. Mark Doty says a great poem requires the poet to build, with the raw material of experience, a vessel strong enough to contain its emotion. Kissane is such an artisan: the poems in Radiance are beautiful, watertight vessels that are full to the brim. Drink deeply. -Judy Johnson

Kissane’s work is magnetic and uplifting. It is a poetry charged with great breadth of emotion and diversity of image. There is tremendous variety to his narratives and poem after poem is crafted to excellence. He is a delight to read and to listen to, and gave a riveting performance at O Bheal, Cork. -Paul Casey