'This is Alan Ross's fourth volume of autobiography (following on from _Blindfold Games_, _Coastwise Lights_, and _After Pusan_)... _Winter__ Sea_, like his previous volumes, is an intriguing mix of memoir, poetry, and travel writing.' _PN Review_ 'Fragmentary and delightfully idiosyncratic... [_Winter__ Sea_] has a distinctly maritime flavour, and the wartime memories recalled after 50 years mostly concern North Sea or Baltic cities... The smell of the Baltic, Ross writes, is 'a fusion of salt, sand dunes, pine trees and tar'... Wherever Ross travels, he has a book in his pocket, and more often than not his reading is by way of homage to a native poet or writer... The symphonic quality of this wistful and, at times, very moving collection is maintained with a final section of 15 new poems, mostly relating to the author's more recent travels. _Winter__ Sea_ is a book to savour; Alan Ross brings history to life as only a poet can.' Euan Cameron, _Independent_