Nightlight

Throughout this journey, Ward feels his way back to touchstones of queer history as well as trying to make himself at home in his surroundings and his increasingly rebellious brain. These poems, deeply attuned to craft and form, mark the arrival of a fearless new voice in Irish poetry addressing sexuality, mental health, and the intricacies of relationships with a fresh eye and fierce command ­­­.

“In Nightlight, Mark Ward gives us poems that are closely attuned to the body, to physical encounter, to the way history exists inside and beyond us. Ward’s poems sing from the testimony of memory, decipher its evidences, and trace its passage, both as it enters us and as it leaves. These lyrics are unashamed and visceral.” Seán Hewitt.

“In one poem, Mark Ward writes “body parts should become agents of commotion”, at another point he writes “Each touch is a spotlight”. In this powerful, energetic collection, the reader is asked to witness the performances, loving, erotic, fearful, which the body must endure.” Andrew McMillan.