Breeding Monsters

By Trevor Conway

Book Overview

"Having published his first collection with Salmon, Trevor Conway has taken the courageous decision to self-publish his second, Breeding Monsters, which, in every way, looks as good as the books currently emerging from any of the main Irish poetry publishers...The fears Conway tries to confront in these poems are indeed the big ones, and by no means all belong to himself...

...In the excellent 'Seven Fears Of An Imminent Father' he faces the additional frets that come with parenthood which range from the tragic "a car could swerve/into our lane/before you've uttered a word", to the more commonplace: "you might hate me, /and I could never know why."...

...With this collection Conway establishes himself as the antithesis of Mary Oliver - the recently deceased American poet of everyday uplift. His poetry has some of the grim wit of Philip Larkin, without - so far as one can see - being weighed down by the fascist sympathies and bondage magazines Larkin carried about the place with him."- Kevin Higgins

In Breeding Monsters, Trevor Conway explores the idea of fear. These poems reach deep into the recesses of the human mind. They tackle uncomfortable thoughts and emotions, revealing how fear can act as a motivator, as inspiration. The poet examines a writer's fear, a father's fear, the anxiety of a woman jogging alone on a dark street. The events of World War II inspire a number of poems, while perennial themes such as ageing, sickness and death also feature. The poet confides that fear led him to discover the power of writing as a young man. By exploring these concerns in verse, he emasculates them, denying them the control they once had. This collection glorifies an emotion rarely viewed with optimism. One conclusion is clear after reading it: fear is an essential element of human experience, one from which we can't hide.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1728926289
• ISBN13: 9781728926285
• Release Date: October 2018
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 100 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 5.5" x 8.5"