The Day Before

The Day Before is a collection of poems that capture the ordinary moments in life during the early weeks and months of the pandemic, exploring first steps, last breaths, milestones, millstones, emigration, fly-tipping, and the world behind the front door. Tender, challenging, and historically significant, the collection asks what it means when home is the one place you cannot leave and the one place you cannot go.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 64 pages
Publication date: 22 February 2024
Publisher: Bloodaxe Books Ltd

Aoife Lyalls' The Day Before is a captivating exploration of the ordinary moments in life that take on extraordinary significance in the face of crisis and threat. Focusing on the initial weeks and months of the pandemic, these intimate and meticulous poems vividly capture the lived experience of someone navigating a world that has suddenly become unfamiliar. Through her poetic lens, the author delves into the first steps taken, the final breaths taken, the milestones reached, the millstones encountered, the struggles of emigration, the unsightly phenomenon of fly-tipping, and the vast world that exists beyond the confines of the front door. The Day Before is a tender, challenging, and historically significant work that poses profound questions about the meaning of home, both as a sanctuary and as a place that remains elusive. This second collection by Aoife Lyalls follows her widely acclaimed debut, Mother, Nature, which was shortlisted for the Scottish First Book Award in Scotland's National Book Awards in 2021.

Weight: 132g
Dimension: 156 x 232 x 9 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781780376905