Definitely A Woman We Should Listen To

A Woman Talks to Her Tongue speaks of a family, its secrets and silences, unacknowledged griefs and inherited traumas. Written from the point of view of the fifth child in a complex family, the early poems catch and release a few moments in a daughter’s life, from her early childhood to parenthood. The second section of the book is a kind and passionate cry for truth-telling, femininity and creativity, and includes a series of remarkable monologues that examine silence and breaking silence in the voices of some women from history.  In part three, the poet leads us deftly through painful discoveries and the loneliness of estrangement, toward her reconnection with ageing parents, and her ongoing battle to forgive—a quest for understanding, acceptance and wisdom.

This first collection by Alison Gorman is a bestiary of silences; it is a book of many forms, of eloquence and quiet rage, a book of small ecstasies, long sorrows and longer loves. The poems keep a poet’s secrets and curate her memories as if they were our own, leaving us with a lyric and fragmentary record of a life that learns to transfigure silence to song and sorrow to beauty.

We are proud to bring this volume to you and are sure you will enjoy it.. Find out more about the book by clicking the link below; or better still, come along to hear ... Judith Beveridge and Audrey Molloy in conversation with Alison at the launch of this book of well-crafted, perceptive and moving poems at 7pm on 25 June. You can register for this event on the Roaring Stories website using the link below.

Register for the Launch

Find out more about the book