Odd as F*ck

By Anne Walsh-Donnelly

In this collection, the author loses, finds and redefines herself, in poems that are sometimes visceral and often humorous. She ultimately shows how meaningful life can become after a period of darkness and how transformative those experiences can be. Anne Walsh Donnelly's debut chapbook with Fly on the Wall Press 'The Woman With An Owl Tattoo' came 2nd at the International Poetry Book Awards 2020.

'These are personal poems, where the reader shares with the poet a space as intimate as the conjugal bed. From the everyday idiom of housewives and farmers to the imagined voices of beasts and inanimate objects, Anne Walsh Donnelly captures the humour and pathos of real life with unique honesty.' - Audrey Molloy, poet and author of Satyress

'In Odd as F*ck, Anne Walsh Donnelly recounts one woman's journey through pain and growth. The poems are poignant, stark, and beautiful, heavy with unanswered questions, but buoyed up by levity. This is potent work.' -Nuala O'Connor, author of The Juno Charm

Sample poem;

1957 - 1959


On the hottest Sunday in July,
the same day Mam got her first period,
she was sent to her father's room
to wake him for tea.


She cried when she touched his tepid skin
and begged him to open his eyes.
In the fields cattle lowed, udders heavy with milk.


Two Christmases later,
my grandmother pressed Mam's hand
against her abdomen,
told her of the operation in January.
'I'm afraid I might not wake up.'


'You mustn't cry,
you have to be strong for your sisters,'
the nuns told Mam, the day before the funeral.


She watched over her sisters
as they stood shivering in the graveyard,
under the shadow of a Great Oak.
She became the roots of their saplings,
chainsawed through her own pain.

'This is poetry; raw, untethered, honest poetry. It is poetry that doesn't hide, doesn't whisper but instead stands tall and roars. It allows us to get to know the author, to journey with her as she navigates through family, sexuality, ageing and motherhood. This is poetry that tells us that it's okay, that life is often not easy but there is always hope, poetry that gets straight to the point, that is pure, that is real. This is poetry.' -Steve Denehan, poet and author of Days of Falling Flesh and Rising Moons
 
'Anne Walsh Donnelly states that Death is not nothing, it is everything-this could be the manifesto for her fierce and delicate poetry. A disarming openness and honesty lights up in every poem while her voice never loses its humour or balance, ranging. from the visionary to a wonderfully universal everyday demotic.' - Martina Evans, poet and author of Now We Can Talk Openly About Men

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fly on the Wall Press
• Release date: May 14, 2021
• ISBN: 9781913211431

Book preview

Odd as F*ck

Anne Walsh Donnelly

First published May 2021 by Fly on the Wall Press

Published in the UK by Fly on the Wall Press

56 High Lea Rd, New Mills, Derbyshire, SK22 3DP

www.flyonthewallpress.co.uk

Copyright Anne Walsh Donnelly © 2021

ISBN: 9781913211424 Paperback

97819132114-1 EBook

The right of Anne Walsh Donnelly to be identified as the author of this work has been

asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Typesetting by Isabelle Kenyon. Cover photo from Shutterstock.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without prior written permissions of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable for criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. A CIP Catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

This collection is dedicated to mothers who have lost children

and children who have lost mothers, especially those I’ve been

privileged to spend time with on this earth.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to the Words Ireland Mentorship Programme 2020, the Mayo Arts Office and my mentor Nuala O’Connor for their support. To Fly on the Wall press, in particular Isabelle Kenyon for her editorial input, enthusiasm and for being such a pleasure to work with.

Thanks to the Poetry Ireland Introduction Series 2019 which contributed to my development as a poet. To Martina Evans for selecting me for the series and my fellow poets who participated in the series.

Thanks to the editors and journals where some of the poems (or earlier versions) in this collection first appeared: Crannog, Boyne Berries, The Blue Nib, Impspired, Impossible Archetype, Poetry Bus, Inside the Bell Jar, Live Encounters, Havin’ A Laugh, Poethead and Spontaneity.

Thanks to the many poets and writers I have been fortunate to encounter since I started writing. You are too many to mention, but in particular I’d like to acknowledge the following groups: Museum Writers Group, Poets Abroad, Crows Foot Group, GMIT Creative Writing Class of 2013, Over the Edge Online Writing Workshops and most especially my Weekly Prompts Writing Group.

Deep gratitude and much love as always goes to my parents, brothers and two children, Brian and Hannah.

Contents

I

Days Like These

II

Conversations

Soon

1957-1959

Branded

A Minute’s Silence

Klein’s Breast

Apple Tart

Conkers

Mother’s Day, 2020

You Tell Me

III

I’m a Jack Hammer

The Knife Thrower’s Wife

Birth to Bacon

Simmering Orange Sauce

Rare Rib-Eye

Venus

Odd as F*ck

The Death of Happy-ever-afters

The Wonder of You

The Ploughed Field

IV

To Be a Stranger in Your Own Home

October, 2016

Black Knight

How Did You Know?

Death Is Nothing At All

Rodeo Cowboy on a Bronco

Saltwater Crocodile

Mr Sun

My Therapist and Her Bumble Bee

V

Excavation

Growth

Two for Joy

Dim the Screens