The Humble Administrators Garden

In his second collection of poems, Vikram Seth reflects on three cultures he

knows well: India, California and China. He writes about Chinese noblemen

and hermits; lovers whom he has outgrown or who have outgrown him;

the night sounds and sights on a deserted California beach; the power of

moonlight and music to both hurt and heal.

Summing up the effect of this brilliant collection, the poet and critic Donald

Davie wrote: ‘[These] poems should have an impact far beyond much noisier

pieces; for when did we last see a volume in which the poet’s eye is on what is

objectively before him, rather than on the intricacies of his own sensibility?’