Overview

Taking his backdoor as a starting point, Joseph Horgan goes on a quest to explore the natural world, bringing with him the words of Patrick Kavanagh and others - writers, poets, naturalists and scientists - who roamed and wrote about the Irish countryside. As he observes and considers everyday sights, familiar birds and animals, he attempts to reclaim the wonders of nature in our electronic globalised world. The book spans one autumn and one winter, framed by the departure of the swallows from the author's backyard and concluding with their return. In between, the author travels on foot or by bicycle along some still-quite country lanes of twenty-first-century rural Ireland. Mingling his observations and thoughts with references from seventh-century poetry to modern geological studies, the author encourages us to look again at nature around us and to respect and protect it. This portrait of natural riches reminds us of what is lost, and what we stand to lose, if we take it for granted, deafened by mad-made noise.

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9781848890336

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Reviews

'Powerful and coherent, marking the arrival of a singular voice in Irish poetry.' Paula Meehan 'These poems sting like whiskey and imbibing them it is easy to see why Horgan was garlanded with 2004's Patrick Kavanagh award.' The Stinging Fly 'Well written and profound' Evening Echo 'A wonderful read by a man with whom you could walk a mile and learn a lot' Sunday Tribune 'A book to be relished' The Irish Times

Author Information

Joseph Horgan came to live in Ireland in 1999. Twice shortlisted for the Hennessy Award for new Irish Writing, in 2004 he won the Patrick Kavanagh award for poetry. His work has been broadcast on RTAe radio and television and he writes a weekly column for the Irish Post. His poetry has been widely published and his first collection, Slipping Letters Beneath the Sea, was published in 2008. He lives in County Cork with his wife and children.

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