Back From Away is the second full collection from the force of nature that is Damien B. Donnelly. He is the award-winning author of the poetry pamphlet Eat the Storms, a Stickleback publication and the conversational pamphlet In the Jitterfritz of Neon, co-written by Eilín de Paor, all published by Hedgehog Poetry Press. Many of you know him as the host and producer of the poetry podcast Eat the Storms, and editor-in-chief of The Storms, a printed journal of poetry, prose and visual art. His first full collection Enough! was published by Hedgehog Press in August 2022 Damien has received several awards, from the Arts Council and Fingal Arts and others. Back from Away is his second full collection.
Reading the poems in Damien’s exuberant collection felt akin to being immersed in a kaleidoscope of many sensations, places, people, culture, languages, as the poet delves into a multitude of experiences derived from his many travels – starting with his home town of Dublin, continuing on to Paris, Amsterdam, Shanhai, Korea- and also, a journey from the past, landscapes of North Co Dublin, evoked with great affection to the present and looping back to reflect on memories, and on the nature of memory itself.
See p 29 Book of Memories first stanza
In less accomplished hand, such a rich and riotous journey could feel chaotic for the reader, but is not – rather, the reverse. I think this is because there is the spine of a structure that is familiar to so many of us – the adventure of leaving our home, be that country or hearth – wandering in foreign parts, meeting new people, leaving them – and returning, with all the enrichment, changes and even losses that such a journey brings. Although Damien’s experiences are specific and his own, they speak to us on a universal level, because of the added dimension of the physical travels being a journey into and towards the self.
See p 72 To Capture Each Other,Together
Some of these poems have a light touch and are peppered with casual references to places in Madrid and Paris and Amsterdam that place us in the mind of a flaneur, whose streets are the streets of the world; whereas others take us on a journey through memory, early life, questioning of origins, a wistfulness for connections and intimacies left behind.
Although I think you will fund some of these poems witty and amusing – there is a poignancy underlying the voyage itself, where some experiences are fleeting yet leave an indelible mark and others, people the poet returns to. Reading such poems is all the more affecting for the mingling of change and renewal accumulated while away, alongside the coming back – returning home to an enriched self.
Damien, let us accompany you.