Book description
These Days represents one of the most strikingly original
debuts in recent years and won the 2004 Forward Prize for Best First
Collection. Leontia Flynn - still in her twenties - writes about
Belfast and the north of Ireland with a precision and tenderness that
is completely fresh. While her subject matter ranges from memories of
childhood to the instabilities of adulthood, from the raw domestic to
the restless pull of 'elsewhere', her theme throughout is a search for
physical and mental well-being, for a way to live a life. A number of
exquisitely moving poems about her father highlight her extraordinary
gifts: her exact ear, her heightened, filmic sensibility, her
bittersweet tone - all of which combine in poems that are accessible
but not obvious, witty and serious, delicate but tough, and always
surprising.
These Days is not simply a first book of great promise; it
marks the arrival of a new, exciting and important voice.
Leontia Flynn was born in Belfast in 1974. She is currently finishing
a PhD at Queen's College. She was awarded a major Eric Gregory Award in
2001.
