nicolaheaney

Faro

I’ll admit that expectations were low. I’d visited Portugal many times, but avoided the Algarve, believing it to be over-touristed and lacking in anything cultural. Oh, how I was wrong! Faro is a compact, coastal town with typically Mediterranean paved streets winding towards the sea. On our approach, we were bemused by the amount ofContinueContinue reading “Faro”

Leontia Flynn: Profit and Loss

Leontia Flynn’s third collection was first published in 2011, but it’s taken a while for us to come into contact. In general, I try to avoid reviews of poetry collection before reading a book and in this case, I think it was a wise decision. Not because the reviews weren’t excellent – they were, mostContinueContinue reading “Leontia Flynn: Profit and Loss”

Iceland

Europa

Sean O’Brien’s collection Europa comes at a fitting time for a poetic exploration of European and British identity. It’s a heavy read, moving across the continent, but still retaining the ability to focus in on the details in breathtaking and meaningful ways. The collection opens with ‘You Are Now Entering Europa’ – a title whichContinueContinue reading “Europa”

Coimbra

Our visit to Coimbra was an accident. A happy accident, but an accident none-the-less. With a close friend choosing to marry in Cascais, we decided to venture into the parts of Portugal between Porto and Lisboa and Coimbra seemed an ideal location. A little bit of research told us it was a lively university townContinueContinue reading “Coimbra”

Selected Poems by Kate Clanchy

It is the delicacy with which she transforms the mundane that makes Clanchy one of my favourite poets and this selection opens with ‘Slattern’ from her debut collection of the same name. In terms of the sequencing of the collection, this is a beautiful note on which to open, where she explores the notionContinueContinue reading “Selected Poems by Kate Clanchy”

Croatia

The Wild Places

One of the greatest things about my MA course was being introduced to the joys of sublime non-fiction writing. For me, Macfarlane is at the top of an illustrious list. I came across Landmarks when researching the notion of an ‘untranslateable’ word for my poetry manuscript and fell in love with his poetic turns ofContinueContinue reading “The Wild Places”

The Bricks that Built the Houses

I’ll start by admitting something – I really wanted to dislike this book. Not because I’m not a fan of Kate Tempest’s work – I find her performance style invigorating and was swept away by the anger in the voice of Let Them Eat Chaos. So, why was I so keen to find fault? Jealousy? Resentment?ContinueContinue reading “The Bricks that Built the Houses”

Crudo, Olivia Laing

Olivia Laing’s novel Crudo reviewed.