Synæsthesium is an unusual exploration of ekphrasis―poetry that takes a real or imagined work of art as its muse. The first half of the book, ‘Olfactorium’, is inspired by various fragrances and the olfactory flashbacks―real or imagined―induced by them. From everyday Old Spice to exotic Casbah, the poems take the reader on journeys peppered with the luscious language of perfumery. The second part, ‘Love and Work,’ is based on the works of Suzanne Valadon, the bold and unconventional model-turned-artist, peer and probable lover of Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec, and other painters. The poetic forms―sonnets, syllabics, a villanelle, a rondeau―reflect the content of the paintings and drawings of this great and under-appreciated artist.

“Moira Egan’s Synæsthesium, like a unique perfume in a beautiful flask, expertly mingles the base-notes of memory and desire, art and womanhood, in the clear container of form. She writes from deep within the senses, but she spills nothing with assurance of her craft. When we read these poems, we find that our own senses are renewed.”
—Carol Ann Duffy