In her debut collection Seaglass, Kathryn Tann compiles 19 distinct personal essays to present a full-bodied and affecting commentary on modern adulthood. The south Wales native employs a signature lyricism which has seen her work widely published and praised, with accolades from The Bookseller and the New Welsh Awards in 2021. Here, she applies her gentle syntactical pulse to the unmilled realities of contemporary existence, lending a lingual musicality to her reflections.

In her lexis, Tann evokes crystal-clear images, rendering her personal history with keen and honest perception. Her figurative yield is easy, imbued with discerning sensitivity to her subject matter, and neatly juxtaposed with moments of pleasing colloquial voice: in Mountain Pools And Neoprene, “Sometimes the water is just flipping freezing.”

Addressing current and enduring trusims, Tann invokes a wealth of relatable life experience with striking and singular judgement, negotiating mind, body, place and relationships along the glittering spine of her story. The author returns to the water again and again, revealing a herringbone pattern that stretches to the edges of a life lived in proximity to the natural world. Tann writes with an alertness and a compassion that is a true pleasure to read.