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Somewhere but not Here
Winner of the RL Poetry Award, 2016 in the international category, selected by Vinita Agrawal, and a Finalist in the Poetry category of the 2018 “International Book Awards“
"Somewhere but not here is an intimate collection that whisks the reader around the world, taking in North Korea, Gaza, India, Syria, Boston, Nigeria and Prague. It’s a thoughtful, philosophical collection of poems which never strays far from concrete description and memorable images. It records some of the most heinous acts people are capable of, but also documents the spirit of those who face adversity. Above all, it’s a collection brimming with skill and compassion."
Trevor Conway – Author of ‘Evidence of Freewheeling’
With fresh, plain-spoken elegance and tender courage, Stephen Byrne tells the stories of our fear and our humanity, of unimaginable loss and of love. These resolute poems reclaim the dignity of the broken and healing heart, and the certainty of becoming forever. We share in the poet’s empathetic vision—the desperation of a father struggling to wake his dead child, the dance of the strawberries spilling memories into the soil and plotting the next harvest. There is no pretending or pretense, no shadow that does not reveal. Celebrating those we love, we see those we have loved “swaying as if waving,” as they reach to take our hand.
William O’Daly – Poet and translator of Pablo Neruda, Author of ‘Water Ways’
“Stephen Byrne is an absolute exception among his generation of Irish poets. He is the poet Lorca (or Neruda) could have been, if either of them had had the good fortune to grow up on a large public housing estate on Dublin’s Northside. Byrne’s influences are international in a way that makes most of his contemporaries look like backwoods men (and women). His poems are complex works of striking lyrical beauty.”
Kevin Higgins – Poet, Essayist, Author of Song of Songs 2.0: New & Selected Poems
There is immense sensitivity and content in Stephen Byrne's poetry. No jarring notes, no awkward crunches in articulation - he has the 'pace of stillness'. His words settle like smooth pools of water in the rough craters of the mind.
Vinita Agrawal - Author of 'The Silk of Hunger'
"Somewhere but not here is an intimate collection that whisks the reader around the world, taking in North Korea, Gaza, India, Syria, Boston, Nigeria and Prague. It’s a thoughtful, philosophical collection of poems which never strays far from concrete description and memorable images. It records some of the most heinous acts people are capable of, but also documents the spirit of those who face adversity. Above all, it’s a collection brimming with skill and compassion."
Trevor Conway – Author of ‘Evidence of Freewheeling’
With fresh, plain-spoken elegance and tender courage, Stephen Byrne tells the stories of our fear and our humanity, of unimaginable loss and of love. These resolute poems reclaim the dignity of the broken and healing heart, and the certainty of becoming forever. We share in the poet’s empathetic vision—the desperation of a father struggling to wake his dead child, the dance of the strawberries spilling memories into the soil and plotting the next harvest. There is no pretending or pretense, no shadow that does not reveal. Celebrating those we love, we see those we have loved “swaying as if waving,” as they reach to take our hand.
William O’Daly – Poet and translator of Pablo Neruda, Author of ‘Water Ways’
“Stephen Byrne is an absolute exception among his generation of Irish poets. He is the poet Lorca (or Neruda) could have been, if either of them had had the good fortune to grow up on a large public housing estate on Dublin’s Northside. Byrne’s influences are international in a way that makes most of his contemporaries look like backwoods men (and women). His poems are complex works of striking lyrical beauty.”
Kevin Higgins – Poet, Essayist, Author of Song of Songs 2.0: New & Selected Poems
There is immense sensitivity and content in Stephen Byrne's poetry. No jarring notes, no awkward crunches in articulation - he has the 'pace of stillness'. His words settle like smooth pools of water in the rough craters of the mind.
Vinita Agrawal - Author of 'The Silk of Hunger'
88 pages, Paperback
Published November 21, 2017
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4 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Byrne
2 books26 followersStephen Byrne is an Irish personal chef, poet and food writer living outside Chicago. His debut collection 'Somewhere but not Here' won the RL Poetry Award, 2016 in the international category and was selected by Vinita Agrawal and was a Finalist in the Poetry category of the "2018 International Book Awards". His poetry book collaboration 'Wayword Tuesdays' was shortlisted for Writing Magazines Writers’ Circle Anthology Award. Former Associate editor with ELJ Publications, he now writes food recipes and articles for the website This is Galway.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 7, 2018
This is a very special collection of poetry which speaks directly to the times in which we live, and which deserves to have a life beyond. It's so hard to know what to do with the tragic stories from around the globe that sometimes make it through our news and social media filters to become part of Western consciousness for a short time, before they become replaced by a fresh horror (usually engendered by the pursuit of Western interests at the expense of the rest of the world). Often the hugeness of the problem makes us feel numb and helpless, often it's easier to turn the television off.
"Somewhere but not here" is a powerful feat of imaginative empathy, as Stephen Byrne's powerful lyricism brings to life these over-reported, under-reported, often politicised stories in all their day to day textures and tender humanity. By interspersing them with poems from his own life and nation, he shares his common humanity with his subjects, bridging the distance implied in the title of the collection.
Particular stand-outs for me are "Because You're A Girl" (which I'd love to see taught in schools) and "Elegy for the Mad Ones", but it's the coherence of the collection itself that makes it such a powerful experience to read.
I not only look forward to further collections from this poet, I'm looking forward to seeing this collection being read far and wide and into the future.
"Somewhere but not here" is a powerful feat of imaginative empathy, as Stephen Byrne's powerful lyricism brings to life these over-reported, under-reported, often politicised stories in all their day to day textures and tender humanity. By interspersing them with poems from his own life and nation, he shares his common humanity with his subjects, bridging the distance implied in the title of the collection.
Particular stand-outs for me are "Because You're A Girl" (which I'd love to see taught in schools) and "Elegy for the Mad Ones", but it's the coherence of the collection itself that makes it such a powerful experience to read.
I not only look forward to further collections from this poet, I'm looking forward to seeing this collection being read far and wide and into the future.
July 17, 2018
Byrne's ultimate goal is to engage his readers' minds in such a powerful way that "the night will fall in screaming / & the dawn will snap in two."
Read the full review: https://poets.media/stephen-byrne-s-a...
Read the full review: https://poets.media/stephen-byrne-s-a...
October 7, 2021
A wonderful collection, hard hitting and beautiful. I will reread it often.
April 23, 2022
Fantastic work of observational poetry - simple and elegant at the same time.
March 17, 2021
It's intense and heartfelt. It creates pictures in your mind and an uneasiness in your stomach and soul. It's not easy to digest. It's great. Go read it.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews