Bone Rosary: New & Selected Poems

Thomas Lynch is a well-known poet-undertaker who writes about life, faith, doubt, and death. This retrospective displays his work over time, exploring themes of aging and mortality. Lynch's direct and unvarnished style resonates with those who have faced life's essential questions, drawing on his experiences as an undertaker to transform the mundane task of preparing the dead into life-affirming accounts of our lives. His poems depict the dead citizens of his hometown, his family relationships, and scenes and myths from his Irish Catholic upbringing.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 256 pages
Publication date: 23 June 2022
Publisher: Bloodaxe Books Ltd

Thomas Lynch, a celebrated poet-undertaker from the Americas, has gained recognition for his thought-provoking poems that delve into the realms of life, faith, doubt, and death. This captivating new retrospective showcases the evolution of Lynch's artistic journey, portraying it as a profound exploration of aging and confronting mortality, themes that are deeply familiar to caregivers. Lynch's direct and unadorned style resonates with those who have grappled with the most fundamental questions of life. Like his fellow poets Wallace Stevens and William Carlos Williams, Lynch possesses a unique ability to write about real-life experiences while infusing his language with a profound sense of power. Throughout his career, Lynch worked as an undertaker in Midwest America, simultaneously pursuing his passion for writing. In his spare time, he emerged as a writer of exceptional insight, offering profound perspectives on the mysteries and complexities of life. Drawing from his daily routine, Lynch transforms the mundane task of preparing the dead into life-affirming accounts that shed light on the essence of human existence. His lyrical and elegiac poems vividly depict the lives of his hometown's citizens, his personal family relationships, and the scenes and myths from his Irish Catholic upbringing. Through his poetry, Lynch invites us to contemplate the profound interconnectedness of all things and to embrace the beauty and fragility of life.

Weight: 502g
Dimension: 158 x 232 x 21 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781780376189