Heart over Time encapsulates the sense of intrigue, of appointed times and of personal election that permeates the writer's work throughout. Marie Barrett's poetry and prose has a 'Jacob's ladder' type feel to it, the journey of life winding and rewinding itself with new revelations revealed in old themes. From her first book, The Witnesses, which was written under instructions from the words in a dream: 'Write about your experiences in London and call the book The Witnesses.' a follow-up to Over the Boundaries, in which a wide spectrum of emotions are confronted. In Heart over Time, eschatological concerns are particularly to the fore, stemming most poignantly from the recent death of her husband. The internal rhythms of the speech of her soul find a companion in nature and in the silent workings of the seasons and the universe and have a hypnotising effect that draws the reader in its wake to a state of shared metaphysical being.
