From a stony-faced DJ with ‘a canny eye’ to a Greek nymph renowned for her chastity, Foreign News is a book whose reach and aims are evident in its richly allusive sequences.

In matching her sense of play and her use of idiom David Wheatley proves himself a perfect counterpart for Aifric Mac Aodha’s poems that resound with longing and a modern sensibility.

Chuireas mo long trí thine,

ar chéadteacht dom i dtír:

leor liom an seomra ar cíos;

ní hacmhainn dom dul siar.

I set my ship ablaze at the first safe landing:

a rented room does for me these days;

home thoughts couldn’t be more foreign.