Our Bookshelf
Browse our Bookshelves, selected annually by the Exchange as a window to recent Welsh literary works which we recommend for translation.
“Extraordinary poems of self-encounter, of divergence, of bruised bodies out of balance with themselves, laid bare – and of new found identities, and joyous release.”
Richard Marggraf Turley
“This book is an astonishing and totally life-enhancing achievement.”
Bernard O’Donoghue
"With grace, thoughtfulness and often humour these poems open out beyond case history into the field of shared experience with which most readers will be bound to empathise.”
Phillip Gross
"Carney invokes the power of words to nurture compassion and healing, making for a welcome and timely debut."
Carrie Etter
"Rachel Carney's debut collection delights in its curiosity and surrealism. This is a collection that 'swims out into deep ocean currents' to explore the workings of the mind and the impacts of this on the self."
Katherine Stansfield
Octopus Mind
Octopus Mind plays with an array of rich and original metaphors to explore the intricacies of neurodiversity, perception and the human mind. These poems articulate the desire to understand and be understood by oneself and others in a complex world. They observe the nuances of creativity, art, relationships, and self-expression through the lens of neurodiversity, reflecting on the poet’s experience of being diagnosed with dyspraxia as an adult.
Some of the most stunning poems in this collection perform a kind of magic or sleight of hand, as dyspraxia is explored through unique and remarkable metaphors, including a series of artefacts in a museum, a walk along the seashore, and a swaying tree. The ‘Octopus Mind’ evokes the possibilities of what it means to be human, through obsession, self-deception, realisation, and acceptance.
The speaker in Octopus Mind is endearingly humble and we journey with them beyond self-criticism to reclaiming the self.
- Seren (2023)
Seren
Reviews
“Extraordinary poems of self-encounter, of divergence, of bruised bodies out of balance with themselves, laid bare – and of new found identities, and joyous release.”
Read more reviewsRichard Marggraf Turley