Once Upon a Quark: Poems
‘Once upon a Quark signals from the title page both its breadth of reference and its distinctive melding of the homely and the transcendent. These poems are an absolute delight, witty, virtuosic in their varieties of form, their strikingly original twists on familiar phrases, profoundly serious in their intent. Anne Connolly takes on with the lightest of touches, the deftest verbal playfulness, the key issues of an era in which human beings are at odds with nature and with themselves. At the heart of this truly human and humane collection is a palpable warmth, rooted in a strong sense of family, of history, of place. Anne Connolly’s clear-sighted and compassionate eyes ‘see life steadily and see it whole’. But they look beyond the quotidian to infinite possibilities, launching into the unknown a message which, as she says, ‘may just reach/the Dreamtime.’
—A. C. Clarke
About the author:
Anne Connolly is an Irish poet long settled in Scotland. She taught throughout these islands and worked for several years as an independent advocate for older people in long-term care. Anne is a former Chair and Makar (2014) of the Federation of Writers Scotland. Her work is widely published and she has appeared at numerous Festivals including Strokestown, Féile na Bealtaine and StAnza 2019. She believes that Poetry is music in its own right. Anne loves performing her work and made it to the final of the BBC Fringe Slam –a real yippee moment! Being a granny (even with social distancing) has been an amazingly happy experience and is a continuing inspiration. Filíocht abú – Poetry forever!
