These are clear-eyed, quietly formal poems, moving from memories of a beloved grandmother stolen by Alzheimer’s, through to the joy and anxiety of new fatherhood in a role very different to that of the previous generation. They explore the love and tension that exists within families and communities, bearing the weight of expectation and change. But there is humour too, especially when reality collides with the dream of travel, work and finding love. Oliver has crafted tender, intergenerational poems that capture “the sweet spot / the moment in-between, when night / hands-over to morning’s light”.
- Lorraine Mariner
Relatable emotional truths, specificity of detail and original conceits combine for a tender, funny collection exploring anxiety, masculinity and memory with conviction and freshness.
- Bryony Littlefair
Niall M Oliver lives in Derry, Northern Ireland, with his wife and three sons. He is the author of 'My Boss' by Hedgehog Poetry Press, and his poems have appeared in Acumen, Atrium, The Honest Ulsterman, Ink Sweat & Tears, Fly On The Wall Press, and others.
Lorraine Mariner lives in London and works at the National Poetry Library, Southbank Centre. She has published two collections with Picador, “Furniture” (2009) and “There Will Be No More Nonsense” (2014) and has been shortlisted for the Forward Prize twice, for Best Single Poem and Best First Collection, and for the Seamus Heaney Centre Poetry Prize. Her most recent publication is the poetry chapbook, “Anchorage” with Grey Suit Editions (2020).
Bryony Littlefair is a poet, community centre worker and workshop facilitator living in London. Her debut poetry collection Escape Room (Seren, 2022) was funded by Arts Council England. Her pamphlet Giraffe won the Mslexia Pamphlet Prize in 2017. She was shortlisted for the inaugural Rebecca Swift Foundation Women Poets’ Prize in 2018 and 2020 and in 2019 received the Moth Retreat Bursary Award. She is a member of the UniSlam post-emerging cohort for mid-career poets.
Colin Bancroft has a PhD on the Ecopoetics Robert Frost. His pamphlet 'Impermanence' was released with Maytree Press in 2020 and 'Kayfabe' with Broken Sleep in 2021. His pamphlet 'Knife Edge' (Broken Sleep) was released in April 2022. He is editor at Nine Pens Press and runs the Poets' Directory.