I’m extremely excited that my latest poetry collection ‘Reconstruction’ has just been published! It has been a real labour of love and I am hugely grateful to all those who have supported me in making it possible including my editor Niall O’Sullivan and all the crew at Flipped Eye.
Aoife Mannix’s latest full collection begins with a series of poems that chronicle her recovery from cancer and surgery. In the wake of physical and personal transformation, the seemingly reliable constant of the outside world is in turn transformed by the global pandemic. Between these two antagonising poles of personal health and a world shut off by lockdown, motherhood becomes a source of constant discovery and uncompromising love. As Mannix looks back at moments within her own childhood and teenage years, the realms of fantasy and imagination spill over into experiences of the present, from alternative takes on the land of Oz to a lament for the small, human connections that may be forgotten in the wake of future environmental collapse. Throughout this collection, Mannix’s voice remains intimate, personable and raw. With its startling and precise images never overpowering her need to speak with clarity and trust for her reader. These poems are testament to the stabilising powers of love, empathy and imagination in the face of uncompromising and unpredictable circumstances.
In reading Aoife Mannix’s book Reconstruction I am reminded that Virginia Woolf has talked about illness being a portal to self-understanding. Of course for the past two years of the pandemic, we have all had to deal with the concept or prospect of becoming ill or perhaps even dying; but this is a book that includes not just the psychological tensions of fear and adaptation but also the physical adjustment and struggles of adaptation to new realities. With epiphany and self-reflection, Mannix digs fearlessly into her relationship with her body and her family; all the while her excavation of illness and its proximity to death being a stark and artistic reminder to celebrate life. Aoife Mannix’s book Reconstruction in doing so adds to the canon of illness in literature in a significant way. An important book for all especially in a time when illness and reconstruction have been so much a part of our current focus.
Living As An Alien 