Other books that might interest you

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  After Party - A Telegraph and...

  Dean Browne

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  A Poetry Book Society RecommendationA Sunday Times, Telegraph and Irish Times Book of the YearDean Browne arrives at the After Party with the maturity and style of an altogether more seasoned poet. In a debut collection of standout and stand-alone poems, each tests the boundaries of its unique universe. Browne is a mesmeric teller of strange tales, imaginings that can seem origamically contained within the compressed dimensions of a poem. A leg sets off on a long train journey; a Parisian alley cat is launched into space; earthbound lovers attempt to connect while their inner lives prove unbridgeable.Losses are mourned: two poets elegized here – Charles Simic and the late Donegal poet Matthew Sweeney – might offer a fingerpost of sensibilities, though Browne’s significant talent is distinctly his own. After Party introduces a beguiling, resonant new voice, a raised eyebrow and fidelity to the image – sometimes carried along the tightrope much further than seems possible. In poems that are both death-haunted and youthful, and thrumming with a delicious dark humour, Dean Browne brings a much-needed injection of the surreal – or the surreal-ish as he might prefer to say – to Ireland’s rising generation.'Wildly expressive and exuberant, throwing out phrases and ideas almost recklessly. . . After Party is surely the start of an exceptional poetic career' – Graeme Richardson, Sunday Times Books of the Year‘Poems that sneak in the side-door then exit through the ceiling’ – Caroline Bird'The success of this Cork-based 31-year-old is by no means a surprise . . . But it’s still refreshing to encounter such a distilled, haunting voice' – Telegraph, Books of the Year‘Dean Browne is a terrific poet: his language is agile and fresh, his ideas surprising, and the reader feels invigorated, renewed – and lucky to have met such poems’ – Nick Laird

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  The Timeless Love of Billy B for...

  David Moore

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  Balthazar dreams of the perfect woman, one he can summon or dismiss at will on his computer screen. But as time passes, he becomes ensnared in his own creation, consumed by an obsession with this non-existent figure. As Balthazar spirals downward, losing everything from his identity to the use of his body, reduced to just his mind and the fingers tapping at the keyboard, she, in contrast, rises. She transforms into a modern-day 
  Scheherazade, learning to command her prince.
   
  Baltha B was unaware,No more sits he upon the chair.The relics of his body’s ruin,Are the one last bastionOf his undoing.Death beckons when the hands they clap,To say, ‘Enough! Your time is up’

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  The Raven - A Robin Reads Audiobook

  Edgar Allan Poe

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  Edgar Allan Poe's peerless narrative poem about a forlorn lover who is visited by a mysterious raven. 
  First published in 1845. Narrated by Robin Reads.

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  Gunter

  Lydia Higman, Rachel Lemon,...

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  'Stories from the past just simply don't get told unless someone bothers doing it. And I really believe this story needs to be told.'
  1604. A small village outside Oxford. Two boys have been murdered by local brute Brian Gunter at a football match and their mum wants justice. But Brian is also the richest and most powerful man in the village, and has an ego too fragile to tolerate public slander…
  A nasty feud begins, and when Brian's daughter Anne starts demonstrating strange afflictions, an allegation is made: she has been bewitched.
  Impassioned and highly theatrical, Dirty Hare's award-winning production of Gunter, co-created by Lydia Higman, Julia Grogan and Rachel Lemon, tells a true story of deception, witchcraft and football.
  The play premiered at Summerhall at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2023, where it was awarded a Scotsman Fringe First Award, Pick of the Fringe from both Playbill and Lyn Gardner, whilst Dirty Hare were named one of The Stage's Fringe Five list of breakout theatremakers. It transferred to the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 2024.

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  Four One-Act Plays by WB Yeats

  W. B. Yeats

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  Set against the backdrop of Ireland’s struggle for freedom, "Cathleen Ní Houlihan" unfolds with quiet intensity as a young man’s ordinary life is gradually overtaken by a strange and irresistible call to something greater. In the presence of a beguiling visitor whose words seem to shimmer with myth and longing, dreams of marriage and home give way to visions of sacrifice and national pride. W.B. Yeats weaves a lyrical, otherworldly tale that blurs the line between reality and enchantment, capturing the powerful sway of idealism, identity, and the mysterious forces that drive people to give everything for a cause--the cause for Ireland's freedom. 
  Brimming with charm and mischief, "The Pot of Broth" is a delightful one-act comedy co-written with Lady Gregory in which a clever wanderer, armed with nothing but an empty pot and a silver tongue, convinces a wary country couple that he can brew a magical broth from a simple stone. As tall tales bubble up alongside the imaginary soup, the ordinary kitchen becomes a stage for trickery, laughter, and the quiet magic of believing in just a little more than what’s in front of you. Come into the Irish countryside, where even the poorest pot can cook up a most entertaining story. 
  W.B Yeats' "Purgatory" is a grim representation of generational guilt and spiritual entrapment, as a father confronts the ghosts of his family’s past in the ruins of a once-noble home, where memory and violence echo years afterwards. 
  Meanwhile, in "The Cat and the Moon," two beggars—one blind, one lame—make their way to a holy well where Saint Colman resides in the hopes of curing their respective ailments. But when given the opportunity of being healed or being blessed, both beggars are forced to reassess their convictions. Will they use their newfound gifts for justice, or will they accept placement in the hereafter?

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  Gilded Tilting

  Robert Lockhart

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  Caught  between the eras of Hitler and Putin, the Baby Boomers experienced unprecedented transformations – from becoming the first television generation to enjoying new healthcare and educational opportunities. As the boom subsides into a quieter phase of life, this anthology captures their journey through evocative poems, keen observations, and thoughtful  opinions. Peppered with a touch of humor, including jokes that range from wry to laugh-out-loud funny, this collection serves as both a reflective mirror and an illuminating window into a generation that witnessed and shaped significant social and cultural shifts. Whether you’re a Boomer or simply intrigued by the era, this book offers a compelling blend of enlightenment, entertainment, and thought-provoking insights.

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