The Place of First Things

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“Mark Tarren is possessed.

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He has become possessed by Norfolk Island, Pitcairn Island and their deep and resonant histories, reaching back into a Time Before. But in a perfect fusion, that obsession ignites his extraordinary possession of talent with words.

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Read these poems slowly and deeply, as they have been written. With each reading they sink a little further into the soul and understanding, and we are privileged to gain more insight into the mind of this talented award-nominated poet. At the same time, we are gaining greater insight into the Pitcairn/Norfolk community, and why it stands proudly, unchanged against the battering of Time and the Winds that are invoked by mere humans attempting to reduce it to a single-faceted earthbound plane.

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How fortunate we are that Mark Tarren has chosen to live amongst us and through his reflections, shine a light that allows us to see our community more clearly.”

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From the foreword by Margaret Christian

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“Nowhere in Tarren’s poems do you feel ordinary time...In some ways, Tarren is comparable to Hermann Hesse in his ability to create a spiritual experience on the page.
Tarren delights readers with his original language and distinctive imagery, at turns sharp and fragmentary, and song-like and rhythmic.”

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From “The ghosts that lie beneath” a review of A New Heaven The Norfolk Poems by Claire Miranda Roberts Author of Kangaroo Paw