From Doll House Windows

By Lorraine Carey

Lorraine Carey's poetry displays both the durability and the brittleness of Donegal’s granite and flint clad landscape. As you explore this extraordinary collection, you will not come away unscathed. Great boulders of verbs and craggy nouns will stop you in your tracks: poems will sidetrack you through fissures and areas of pitting and darkness that will often prove uncomfortable but mesmerizing.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Limerick Writers Centre
• Release date: May 8, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463673218

Lorraine Carey

Lorraine Carey was born in Coventry, England and moved to Greencastle, Co. Donegal where she grew up. Her poetry has been widely published in the following; Thee Honest Ulsterman, Vine Leaves, Thee Galway Review, Proletarian, Olentangy Review, Dodging the Rain, A New Ulster, Quail Bell, Live Encounters, ROPES, North West Words, Poethead and Atrium. A past winner of the Charles Macklin Poetry Competition, she was shortlisted in the Originals category at Listowel Writers' Week 2015. She was a runner-up in the Poetry Ireland / Trocaire Competition 2017. She has contributed poetry to several anthologies and her artwork was featured as the cover image for the May 2017 edition of Three Drops From A Cauldron. She now resides in Fenit, Co Kerry.

Book preview

From Doll House Windows

Lorraine Carey

Copyright © Lorraine Carey 2017

First published in Ireland by

Revival Press

Limerick, Ireland

Revival Press is the poetry imprint of

The Limerick Writers’ Centre

12 Barrington Street, Limerick, Ireland

www.limerickwriterscentre.com

www.facebook.com/limerickwriterscentre

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All rights reserved

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form

or by any means, electronic or mechanical without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

Book design: Lotte Bender

Cover Image: Lorraine Carey

Managing Editor Revival Press: Dominic Taylor

Formatted by: Stephen Riordan

ISBN 978-0-9957333-5-0

A CIP catalogue number for this publication is available from The British Library

We acknowledge the support of The Limerick Writers’ Centre Community Publishing Project

Dedicated to the memory of my beloved sister Siobhan (Vonnie)

‘Poetry is a diary kept by a sea creature who lives on land and wishes he could fly.’

Carl Sandburg

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Acknowledgements are due to the editors of the following where some of these poems, or different versions of them, were first published:

The Honest Ulsterman, Vine Leaves, Quail Bell, Live Encounters, A New Ulster, Poethead, The Galway Review, Poetry Breakfast, Olentangy Review, ROPES, Striking A Chord Anthology (Listowel) and Voices from the Cave Anthology (Revival)

Thanks to my editor and fellow poet, Mike Gallagher. Always generous with his time, Mike has been a great mentor and most importantly, a good friend. His invaluable advice, suggestions and his unwavering ability to answer my never ending queries were always appreciated.

I’d like to thank all my friends and fellow members of the Seanchai Writer’s Group.

Thanks also to Paddy Bushe, Ron Carey, Sharon Gariepy Frye and Eileen Sheehan for their time, generosity and support and to everyone who has helped me in many ways on this journey.

INTRODUCTION

Lorraine Carey is of Donegal. Her poetry displays both the durability and the brittleness of Donegal’s granite and flint clad landscape. Trust me, as you explore this extraordinary collection, you will not come away unscathed. Great boulders of verbs and craggy nouns will stop you in your tracks: poems will sidetrack you through fissures and areas of pitting and darkness that will often prove uncomfortable but their quality will mesmerise you. This is a collection that, like polished slabs of granite, will prove to be unique.

Poetry, for me, is a conversation