Aoife Lyall's debut collection Mother, Nature explores the tragic and tender experiences of pregnancy and early motherhood, from ante-natal complications and the devastating pain of miscarriage to the overwhelming joy of healthy delivery and normal infancy. Born and raised in Dublin, Aoife Lyall now lives in the Scottish Highlands. Shortlisted for the Hennessy New Writing Awards in 2016 and 2018, her work has appeared in many literary magazines.
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When a silence came, when the door hushed, it was the shuffle of a midwife leaving us alone in our private grief. SOUNDS OF THAT DAY
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(@BloodaxeBooks, 25 February 2021, ebook, 80 pages, #ARC from the publisher via @edelweiss_squad and voluntarily reviewed)
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This is an impressive debut poetry collection. I really loved it. I look forward to what the poet comes up with next. It will be dazzling if Mother, Nature is anything to go by. The poems share themes of pregnancy and motherhood and touch on some difficult subjects including miscarriage. It was the poems about miscarriage, grief and loss that made this a dazzling collection of poetry; these poems are raw yet beautiful and tender and brought a lump to my throat and tears to my eyes. The best poems include Sounds Of That Day, Hospital Canteen, Haunted, Your Name, Vaudeville and Sacrum.