Aoife Lyall's The Day Before reviewed in The Sunday Times
‘Her theme is ‘heaven in the ordinary’ – moments of illumination in everyday life. Written during the pandemic (chillingly evoked in the poem ‘Moss’), these moments become necessary for survival. There’s an imagist precision here, with real emotional power.’ – Graeme Richardson, The Sunday Times, on The Day Before
Inverness-based Irish poet Aoife Lyall's second collection, The Day Before, was published by Bloodaxe in February 2024. The collection captures the ordinary moments in life that crystallise in the face of crisis and threat. Focusing on the earliest weeks and months of the pandemic, these intimate and meticulous poems mark the lived experience of someone who must navigate a world she no longer understands, exploring first steps and last breaths, milestones, millstones, emigration, and the entire world to be found in the space behind the front door.
The Day Before follows Aoife Lyall's widely praised debut, Mother, Nature, which was shortlisted for the Scottish First Book Award in Scotland's National Book Awards in 2021. The poems of Mother, Nature follow the poet’s own experience of motherhood, from the trauma of pregnancy loss, to the overwhelming joy of a healthy birth.
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POEM OF THE WEEK FEATURE IN THE SCOTSMAN
The Scotsman, Poem of the Week, Saturday 2 March 2024
Aoife Lyall’s poem ‘Torch’ from her second collection The Day Before was featured as Poem of the Week in The Scotsman on 2 March, accompanied by a brief commentary.
‘The poems in the book ask important, challenging questions of lives lived in the face of existential crises and threats.’ – The Scotsman, Poem of the Week
A film poem of ‘Torch’ is on Vimeo here (or scroll down to view).
Aoife Lyall hosted the Scottish Poetry Library’s Nothing But The Poem podcast of 20 March 2024 featuring three poems by Jane Clarke. Details below.
Nothing But The Poem podcast, online 20 March 2024
Three poems by Irish poet Jane Clarke were read and discussed on the Scottish Poetry Library’s Nothing But The Poem podcast. Host Aoife Lyall (another Irish poet published by Bloodaxe) summarised the discussions that had taken place at the SPL’s Nothing But The Poem monthly reading group, and she began each section of the podcast by reading the poem she goes on to talk about. The three poems discussed in this podcast are ‘When Winter Comes’ and ‘Hers’, both from When The Tree Falls, and ‘Daily Bread’ from Jane Clarke’s debut The River.
‘Jane Clarke is the latest subject of the Nothing But The Poem podcast. Jane Clarke is an Irish poet; the author of three poetry collections and an illustrated poetry booklet. Our regular podcast host Sam Tongue is currently on paternity leave and this edition has Bloodaxe poet Aoife Lyall taking an immersive look into three of Jane Clarke’s poems, which were discussed at the online monthly meet-up of the Nothing But The Poem group.’
‘When Winter Comes’ is the first poem read and discussed. ‘Hers’ features from 9.19, and ‘Daily Bread’ from 18:05. All three poems are read by Aoife Lyall.
https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/podcast/nothing-but-the-poem-jane-clarke/
AOIFE LYALL, KERRY HARDIE & FLEUR ADCOCK ON BOOKS FOR BREAKFAST
Books for Breakfast podcast, Thursday 29 February 2024
Fleur Adcock’s Collected Poems was discussed as the first item on the Irish podcast Books for Breakfast on 29 February. Hosts Peter Sirr and Enda Wyley discussed the book and read favourite poems from it – Enda read ‘The Russian War’ and Peter read a ‘properly angry’ poem from the sequence in memory of Fleur’s good friend Roy Fisher: ‘Dead Poets’ Society’.
Kerry Hardie and Aoife Lyall were both interviewed ahead of their joint Dublin launch at Hodges Figgis and spoke to Peter and Enda about their new collections. Kerry read four poems from her ninth collection We Go On. Aoife read ‘Moss’, ‘Torch’ and ‘Knuckles’ from her second collection The Day Before and spoke about the process of making the film poem of ‘Torch’ with Luke and Jake Morgan.
‘On today's show we discuss Fleur Adcock's Collected Poems, newly published by Bloodaxe Books, and we go to the launch of two more Bloodaxe books in Hodges Figgis, Kerry Hardie's We Go On and Aoife Lyall's The Day Before. We talk to both poets about their work and listen to them reading their poems.’
Fleur Adcock’s Collected Poems was discussed first. Kerry Hardie features from 7:09 and Aoife Lyall from 18:50.
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1162427/14601325
All three poets launched their books at Bloodaxe's online reading and discussion event on 20 February 2024. This is now available on YouTube here.
REVIEW COVERAGE FOR AOIFE LYALL IN THE SUNDAY TIMES
The Sunday Times, Sunday 25 February 2024
Aoife Lyall’s second collection The Day Before was well reviewed by Graeme Richardson in the Culture supplement of The Sunday Times on 25 February. His February poetry round-up ran under the title ‘We’re living in a golden era of Irish verse’ and covered four books by Irish and Northern Irish poets. Aoife Lyall grew up in Dublin, but is now based in the Scottish Highlands.
‘Her theme is ‘heaven in the ordinary’ – moments of illumination in everyday life. Written during the pandemic (chillingly evoked in the poem ‘Moss’), these moments become necessary for survival. There’s an imagist precision here, with real emotional power.’ – Graeme Richardson, The Sunday Times, on The Day Before
Online by subscription. The Irish feature follows the review for John Cooper Clarke.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/what-john-cooper-clarke-review-85jm708pv
POEM OF THE WEEK FEATURE IN THE TELEGRAPH
Aoife Lyall’s poem ‘Moss’ from The Day Before was featured as Poem of the Week in the Review supplement of The Daily Telegraph on 27 January 2024. It was featured in the Telegraph Culture e-newsletter of 1 February. The poem was chosen and introduced by Tristram Fane Saunders.
‘'Moss’ … doesn’t read like a belated Covid news dispatch, but instead uses the heightened emotion of that time as a springboard for imaginative, transformative writing, turning a shared experience into something fresh and strange.’ – Tristram Fane Saunders (Poem of the Week), The Daily Telegraph
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Aoife Lyall: Torch: a film poem
Aoife Lyall: Torch, a film poem from Bloodaxe Books on Vimeo.
Torch: a film poem was written and read by Aoife Lyall, directed by Luke Morgan with music by Jake Morgan, produced with funding from The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon. The poem is included in The Day Before, along with the score for the music by Jake Morgan written especially for the film.
[26 February 2024]
