Most of Amryl Johnson's poetry seems to be exploring her own reactions to returning as a visitor to the Caribbean, in particular Trinidad, where she spent her early childhood. In fact, there's a big overlap between this collection and her prose travel-book Sequins for a ragged hem. But that doesn't matter: there are some very impressive poems here, including the frequently-anthologised "Granny in de market place" and a sequence of poems taking us through the carnival in Port of Spain. A poet who sadly died far too young and deserves to be better-known. ( )