Rockabye
£10.00
“In this new collection, Patricia McCarthy reveals, graphically and fearlessly, how the trauma of domestic violence can spread to everything, besmirching and despoiling our fairy-tale endings. Rockabye ranges far and wide, borrowing from folklore, mythology and psychology; there is the fate of a girl-goddess in Nepal, or of a young woman from Catholic Ireland, bereaved by her father’s sudden death, and an account of an abusive relationship. The book interweaves the stories of different women, all of whom, in relationships or out, find themselves in ‘solitary confinement’, or in ‘a different kind of prison’. It is a necessary book for our times, a grave and a brave achievement.”– Stephen Romer
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“In this new collection, Patricia McCarthy reveals, graphically and fearlessly, how the trauma of domestic violence can spread to everything, besmirching and despoiling our fairy-tale endings. Rockabye ranges far and wide, borrowing from folklore, mythology and psychology; there is the fate of a girl-goddess in Nepal, or of a young woman from Catholic Ireland, bereaved by her father’s sudden death, and an account of an abusive relationship. The book interweaves the stories of different women, all of whom, in relationships or out, find themselves in ‘solitary confinement’, or in ‘a different kind of prison’. It is a necessary book for our times, a grave and a brave achievement.”– Stephen Romer
“The dedication of Rockabye to battered women is a timely reminder and the plight of many women is underlined in the poignant poem ‘Behind Drawn Curtains’ which is set in the Shelter for Women founded by Erin Pizzey. In some of these poems Patricia McCarthy reveals with great honesty her painful and complex feelings about her first marriage, but the book isn’t a rant against men nor is it a chronicle of misery. She depicts her loving relationship with her father and throughout there is a strong sense of compassion and understanding. The very varied collection is rich in literary reference and detail of place, especially Ireland and Nepal. We move from the compelling ‘Dirty Old Men of Dublin’ with touches of humour and sharp comment to the long poem which is a new version of ‘The Erl King’. This brave and ambitious book is important. It will speak to many readers.”– Myra Schneider
Restitution
I am dedicating my body now to my horse:
a chestnut mare. She will carry it proudly
through tracks lined with cow parsley, gorse,
rhyming it with her own wheel of energy.
She will understand its language of possession,
inspiration and fear; its commands in the angle
of hip or shoulder, thrust of a breast, position
of each seat bone. In reddened woods I will sit tall,
while she responds, matched to the season,
in tune with my intensity. She will lead me
past ponds studded with kingcups into the span
of Pegasus’ wings, into the owl’s fluted cry.
I will give her my softest hands, biggest heart
when she moulds herself to me, no asking why.
Published: 04 October 2018
ISBN: 9 781905 208 395
Pages: 103
“In this new collection, Patricia McCarthy reveals, graphically and fearlessly, how the trauma of domestic violence can spread to everything, besmirching and despoiling our fairy-tale endings. Rockabye ranges far and wide, borrowing from folklore, mythology and psychology; there is the fate of a girl-goddess in Nepal, or of a young woman from Catholic Ireland, bereaved by her father’s sudden death, and an account of an abusive relationship. The book interweaves the stories of different women, all of whom, in relationships or out, find themselves in ‘solitary confinement’, or in ‘a different kind of prison’. It is a necessary book for our times, a grave and a brave achievement.”– Stephen Romer
“The dedication of Rockabye to battered women is a timely reminder and the plight of many women is underlined in the poignant poem ‘Behind Drawn Curtains’ which is set in the Shelter for Women founded by Erin Pizzey. In some of these poems Patricia McCarthy reveals with great honesty her painful and complex feelings about her first marriage, but the book isn’t a rant against men nor is it a chronicle of misery. She depicts her loving relationship with her father and throughout there is a strong sense of compassion and understanding. The very varied collection is rich in literary reference and detail of place, especially Ireland and Nepal. We move from the compelling ‘Dirty Old Men of Dublin’ with touches of humour and sharp comment to the long poem which is a new version of ‘The Erl King’. This brave and ambitious book is important. It will speak to many readers.”– Myra Schneider
Patricia McCarthy was born in Cornwall, and brought up mainly in Ireland. After studying at Trinity College, Dublin, she lived in Washington D.C., Paris, Bangladesh, Nepal and Mexico. She now lives in East Sussex. Her work has won prizes including the National Poetry Competition 2012 and been widely anthologised. Her recent collections include Rodin’s Shadow (Clutag Press/Agenda Editions, 2012), Around the Mulberry Bush (Waterloo Press, 2013), Horses Between Our Legs (Agenda Editions, 2014) and Letters to Akhmatova (Agenda Editions, 2015). Patricia is the editor of Agenda poetry journal.
