The two sections that comprise matt robinson s fourth full-length volume of poetry, Against the Hard Angle, though disparate in terms of form the first consisting primarily of a long poem; the other a collection of shorter lyrical pieces nonetheless share a common concern with ideas of relationship and its examination. At their core, these are poems about where we stand in relation to the rest of our various worlds. In the collection s opening section, the eponymous (and 2009 Malahat Review Long Poem Award winning) against the hard angle steadily develops a