The Silence Came Close continues Kerry Hardie’s act of attention to ‘the way things are’ in places as familiar as Ireland and as new and exotic as the Pyrenees, Eastern Europe, Australia and China. Because their lessons are so hard-won, ‘maybe there’s more to life than sickness’, the poems in this book intensify the mood of upbeat celebration.

'. . . humane, generous . . . This substantial offering has five sections . . . her sharply observant, intimate persona engages us with direct, economical language and understated lyrical rhythms. . . . readers become fascinated companions as scenes and aperçus unfold, quietly, fatefully.'
                                                                                                                                                                          — James J. McAuley, The Irish Times