Ellen Hinsey's new collection, Update on the Descent is a powerful meditation on violence, war and human division, drawing on personal and family experiences-including the murder of her grandmother-as well as research at the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague. Dynamically and innovatively written in lyrical and anti-lyrical forms, including prose and aphorism, Update on the Descent is a masterwork, an exploration of the extremes of the human condition, tackling issues of civil strife and tyranny, reconciliation and the renewal of the spirit.