Description
Book Synopsis'Glass' is the debut poetry title from Emily Cooper, a writer and poet from Ireland. Cooper's poetics masterfully create a compelling space that deliberately excludes wide views-instead bringing her pen up close to a dilapidated house in a small rural town with its own personality. The traces and presence of those who have existed in those spaces-real and imagined-become interdependent in the narrative. Rural, intimate, isolated and hospitable, she ponders the context of ownership of buildings in 'A fountain pen slices my leg through a bin bag as I move into my new house', and celebrates the old ones collapsing along with their social history. A tunnel of light, the vulnerability of garlic charcoaling in hot oil and the layering dust in-between floorboards are intercut with quiet moments of solitude, affection, disappointment and intimacy. Outside of these spaces of physical realities, there is a strong sense of affection for the enduring landscape of Donegal. Her poems are peppered with the idea of possibilities, of parallel lives and the potential for futures unknown and unseen.
Trade Review'Cooper is a poet of impressive deftness and idea' -Jack Underwood, author of 'Happiness'; 'Emily Cooper's voice shines with honesty and beauty' -Francine Toon, author of 'Pine'; 'If there is ever bad news, have it delivered to me in an Emily Cooper poem' -Ella Frears, author of 'Shine, Darling'; 'I wanted to live inside the delicacy of these poems forever' -Lucia Osborne-Crowley, author of 'My Body Keeps Your Secrets'; 'These poems ask can we ever really own anything other than how we feel; our memories; and sometimes not even those' -Amy Key, author of 'Isn't Forever'; 'In this stunning and original poetry collection, I would follow Cooper anywhere.' -Victoria Kennefick, author of 'Eat Or We Both Starve; 'Glass rethinks the concept of home as a transient but intimate space' -Livia Franchini, author of 'Shelf Life'; 'Glass chronicles the quotidian making and unmaking of permanence with a deft, impressive touch' -Nidhi Zak/Aria Eipe, author of 'Auguries of a Minor God'; 'left me aware of every breath in my body, and somehow, suddenly feeling breathless!' -Abi Palmer, author of 'Sanatorium'; 'Formally inventive, engaging, and driven by a restless curiosity'-Jessica Traynor, author of 'The Quick'
Table of Contents1. The First Casualty of the Summer--2. A fountain pen slices my leg through a bin bag as I move into my new house--3. The Misinterpretation of Ripeness--4. Notions of Sex--5. Dinner with Raymona--6. The Greek Owls--7. Glass--8. Minotaur By Proxy--9. Old Lives--10. Garlicking--11. Io At The Table--12. Bradycardic Response--13. Theseus Returns From Crete 38 The Catsitter--14.Love is All Consuming--15. Incredible Things Do Happen
