Dr Yvonne Reddick releases Poetry, Grief and Healing on 30 June
As the coronavirus death toll rises daily around the world, a University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) academic and poet has created a new book to help people write poems about loss.
Dr Yvonne Reddick’s Poetry, Grief and Healing brings together beautiful, moving and uplifting poems by leading poets, while easy writing exercises guide people through the process of writing their own poetry.
She said: “Poetry plays a special role when we are bereaved. Many people find comfort in reading verse at funerals: poems such as Jackie Kay’s ‘Darling’ and Dylan Thomas’s ‘And Death Shall Have No Dominion’ can provide moments of hope after devastating loss. Poetry helps us to voice our most intense emotions.
"I hope this book will bring some comfort to people, and encourage them to try writing."
“Grief is a shattering experience at the best of times, but whole nations are now in mourning. It’s often difficult to talk about bereavement, and we need to break the silence now more than ever. I hope this book will bring some comfort to people, and encourage them to try writing. From famous authors such as W. B. Yeats to new voices like Malika Booker, there are many styles of poetry for people to choose from here. I’m deeply grateful to the poets for sharing their poems, and especially to publisher Adam Lowe, who has been with me on this journey from the start.”
The researcher and creative writing lecturer previously wrote a poetry pamphlet in memory of her father. She has spent three years running writing workshops for bereaved people in libraries, hospices and museums, and for an NHS recovery college.
With author Adam Lowe, she edited Magma poetry magazine’s 75th issue, on the theme of loss. Many of the poems in Poetry, Grief and Healing were written especially for this project.
Poetry, Grief and Healing will be available from 30 June as an ebook and in print, from Amazon, Lulu.com and Dog Horn Publishing.
