Love in a time of lockdowns could be one way of describing this latest volume of poetry from Wayne Power – a worthy follow-up to his debut collection, Everyone’s a Star after Midnight, published in 2020.
Moreover, these poems go to the very essence of love, seeing it in terms of matters that concern both the heart and the mind. It is a love that is rooted in the communities to which we belong: those that we are born into and those that we seek out (often, in search of refuge, maybe).
Written in the author’s inimitable, racy style – reflecting the spoken-word, performance art that is his craft – these stories offer snapshots of the light and shade of city life, recollections of lost nights, love, mental health, also addressing social and political themes. This is poetry at its unfiltered best, at times gritty but delivered with an unrivalled comedic edge, nourished by a sentiment steeped in fondness for where he is from, where he has been and where he hopes to go in life.
We cannot have the good without the bad, so take time to enjoy all that the world has to offer, see both sides, enjoy the things that existence reveals or has yet to tell us about ourselves and the human condition.
‘Neon Hearts and The Angry Mob’ by Wayne Power is published by The Manuscript Publisher and available to pre-order online, where his debut collection, ‘Everyone’s a Star after Midnight’ is also on sale.
The book was formally launched on Friday, 4 March at 7pm at the St Patrick’s Gateway Centre in Waterford by local and nationally known playwright, Jim Nolan.
St. Patrick’s Gateway Centre, Patrick Street, Waterford
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