I’m excited to announce that I’m having a second book launch! This one will be on Zoom, on 14th September from 7.30pm. I’m delighted to have two wonderful poets joining me as guest readers – Christina Thatcher and Mary Mulholland. The event is free to attend, but you’ll need to register via Eventbrite, to get the link.
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.
Buy the book online: www.serenbooks.com/book/octopus-mind
About the authors
Rachel Carney is a Cardiff based poet, book reviewer, creative writing facilitator and researcher. She grew up in Sheffield, and has spent time living and working in various parts of the UK, as far afield as Aberystwyth, Newcastle upon Tyne, Grasmere and Oxford. She worked in museum learning, research and community engagement for several years, and is now completing a PhD, examining how ekphrastic poetry can enrich our engagement with art in museums. In 2021 she won the Pre-Raphaelite Society Poetry Competition, came 2nd in the Bangor Poetry Competition and was highly commended in the Liverpool Poetry Prize. She’s also had two poems shortlisted for the Bridport Prize, and one poem nominated for the Forward Prize, as well as being placed in several other competitions. She blogs at createdtoread.com.
Christina Thatcher is a Creative Writing Lecturer at Cardiff University. Her work has featured in a variety of in publications including Ambit, Magma, North American Review, Poetry Wales, The London Magazine, The Poetry Review and more. She has published two poetry collections with Parthian Books: More than you were (2017) and How to Carry Fire (2020). To learn more about Christina’s work please visit her website: christinathatcher.com or follow her on Twitter @writetoempower.
Mary Mulholland’s poems have been published in bath magg, Stand, Finished Creatures, Spelt, and other journals and anthologies, longlisted in the National Poetry Prize, Rialto Nature & Place, placed in Wolves, Teignmouth, and commended and shortlisted in several others. Her debut pamphlet is What the sheep taught me (Live Canon, 2022). She founded the platform Red Door Poets and co-edits The Alchemy Spoon.
Register via Eventbrite, to get the link.
