Description
Book SynopsisThis poignant debut by Gavin Bradley explores the emotional toll of different kinds of separation: from a partner, a previously held sense of self, or a home and the people left behind. The main narrative describes the deterioration of a long-term relationship, interweaving poems dealing with the loneliness of immigration and the anxiety of separation from Northern Ireland, the poet’s homeland. These personal poems enter their stories through a variety of characters and places, from dock builders to dogs, from shorelines to volcanoes, to “mouths soft and humming like beehives.” Other sections of the collection examine a post-Troubles’ experience in Northern Ireland (evoking the lived-experience of growing up with bombs and domineering Catholicism), tell grandfather stories, and show a lasting love for the people, the language, and the land. Separation Anxiety ultimately conveys a message of hope, reminding us that “we’ll be remembered for / ourselves, and not the spaces we / leave behind.”
Trade Review“Gavin Bradley writes with great heart, vulnerability, and an engaging lilt and lyricism, taking the reader on an unforgettable journey historically, geographically, and emotionally.” Joanna Lilley, author of Endlings
#3 on Edmonton Poetry Bestsellers list, April 3, 2022
Separation Anxiety follows the deterioration of a long-term relationship, interweaving poems dealing with the loneliness of immigration and the anxiety of separation from home. The idea was to explore the emotional toll of different kinds of separation and loss, but to do so without losing a sense of hope that things can get better. I think it’s a book that a lot of people can relate to. Whether you’re part of an immigrant community or not, separation is something we all go through at different times in our lives. -- Gavin Bradley, The Quad, March 21, 2022
Bradley deals with difficult emotions he’s revealing to a wider audience, a level of vulnerability and exposure that can be challenging. But it can also lead to something constructive, a release valve. -- Justin Bell, Edmonton Journal, March 24, 2022
#7 on Edmonton Poetry Bestsellers list, April 10, 2022
#2 on the Edmonton Poetry Bestsellers list, June 5, 2022
#1 on the Edmonton Poetry Bestsellers list, June 12, 2022
#8 on the Alberta Non-fiction Bestsellers list, June 12, 2022
#9 on Edmonton Poetry Bestsellers list, January 15, 2023
#8 on the Alberta Non-fiction Bestsellers list, March 19, 2023
#2 on the Edmonton Poetry Bestsellers list, March 19, 2023
#10 on the Edmonton Poetry Bestsellers list, April 23, 2023
#10 on the Edmonton Poetry Bestsellers list, May 14, 2023
#4 on the Edmonton Poetry Bestsellers list, June 25, 2023
Table of ContentsI 2 Hemingway’s Cosmonaut 3 September 4 Eating Our Words 5 Strange Kettle of Fish a haon 8 Although I Can See him Still 10 Laying the Docks 12 Brine 13 Out with the Tide II 16 False Spring 17 Persephone Starts to Wonder 18 Blood Warm 19 Chrysalis 20 Pockets 21 Why Couples Are Like Expressionists 22 Hidden Moons 23 Mead a dó 26 Sanctuary 27 Blue Plain Skies 28 Homebody Ghosts III 30 God Moves His Divan 32 Gossamer 34 What We Can Learn from Gutenberg and the Protestants 35 The Fox 36 Crossing the River with Hera a trí 38 It’ll Be Good for the Kids 39 Unburst Lights 40 The Blazer Brigade 42 The Liminal Sorts IV 44 Grand Canyon 45 Probably a Bit of Pathetic Fallacy 46 Easy Love 47 Gobi 48 Koi no yokan a ceathair 50 Dead Language 51 Birds of Paradise 52 Albatross 53 The Space between Breaths V 56 Panic Attack at a Stag Party in Whitefish, Montana 57 Challenge Your Self Talk 58 In with the Tide 60 Uncoupling 62 Scales 64 Epiphanies at the End of the World 65 Remainder a cúig 68 Going Home 69 Being an Albatross 70 Acknowledgements 72 Sometimes, a haiku:"
