It's a bit of an understatement to say we're excited about this landmark moment in the story of our wee press. Co-founder and long-time host of Catalyst's open mic, Ciaran Fox is releasing his first collection of poetry - They Crackle in the Rain.
Shortlisted last year for the inaugural John O'Connor First Book of Poetry Award, the collection attracted judge Elizabeth Smither's eye and ear:
'They Crackle in the Rain reminded me of so many loved poets and poetry schools: The Beats, Black Mountain, Snyder, Ferlinghetti, Ginsberg, Éluard, Apollinaire: poets who were risk-takers, extravagant in images and emotion, to whom the flow of a poem was important, celebratory.'
- Elizabeth Smither, from the judges report, John O‘Connor First Book Award 2022
A collection 20 years in the making – interrupted (and informed) by parenthood, earthquakes, and a day job in mental health promotion as well as holding space for young and emerging poets.
They Crackle in the Rain represents a two decades-long time-lapse through a life both imagined and real in which no experience is left untouched by dream and longing, hope and regret. Misremembered sun-painted afternoons and rain-swept city streets are the background for rivers swallowing hearts, apocryphal internal affairs and a parent lost in the woods of dementia. Death is an ache in the bones and an echo of dance steps while love wins chaotic, temporary victories...
'These are big question poems: whether to drift or commit, solitude versus company, whether to be serious about a talent. Something is always interrupting a conclusion, leading onto the next poem.' Performed or on the page, this is a fine collection.
- Elizabeth Smither
They Crackle in the Rain will be launched at Christchurch book-lovers haven, Scorpio Books on Wednesday 25th October. Details coming soon.
