'A sense of language as vulnerable as well as sacred, of verbal choice as an act of continual importance, becomes at once his theme and his method. Quite simply he exults in words.'
               — Robert Tracy

For nearly fifty years Pearse Hutchinson's poetry has commanded attention and respect. The Soul that Kissed the Body includes, with his own translations into English, generous selections from two collections in Irish and more recent poems. His work is thoughtful and compassionate, and he is one of the most incisive critics of contemporary values. His honest introduction elaborates on the 'family quarrel' his engagement with Irish and poetry has involved.