Easter in March

From the opening and title poem, which is set apart from the three subsequent movements, Daragh Bradish ‘sets out his stall’ – redemption is possible from the disillusionment of modern life. “Beauty will save the world” (Dostoyevsky, The Idiot). The poet advises us to re-enchant the ordinariness of our lives, and find new meanings in old objects. Recharge and recycle what we find in our personal histories, and come out dancing each new morning.

The poems in Easter in March are drawn from such diverse sources as children’s story books and games, Renaissance paintings, pop songs, the streets of Rome, the Dublin coastline, and landscapes of west Clare. Out of this kaleidoscope, the collection, moves through circuits and undercurrents to the premise that, not only will Beauty save the World, but it has potential to change each of our lives if we are willing to awake it from its present slumber. This is achieved by Daragh through a sharp and shaped perception.

There are three prose books driving the collection forward, The Re-enchantment of Everyday Life by Thomas Moore; Ordinarily Sacred by Lynda Sexton; and John O’Donohue’s Eternal Echoes. The poet casts his own life story against the philosophy expounded in these works. His poetic influences are wide and include Denise Levertov, Fred Marchant, and Jane Kenyon.