Neon Hearts and the Angry Mob

Love in a time of lockdowns would one way of encapsulating the themes that emanate from Wayne Power's second volume of poetry – a worthy follow-up to his debut collection, Everyone's a Star after Midnight, published in 2020.

Moreover, these poems go to the very essence of love, seeing it in terms of matters that concern both the heart and the mind. It is a love that is rooted in the communities to which we belong: those that we are born into and those that we seek out, often in search of refuge, maybe.

Written in the author’s inimitable, racy style, reflecting the spoken-word performance art that is his craft, these stories offer snapshots of the light and shade of city life, recollections of lost nights, love, mental health, also addressing social and political themes. This is poetry at its unfiltered best, at times gritty but delivered with an unrivalled comedic edge, nourished by a sentiment steeped in fondness for where he is from, where he has been and where he hopes to go in life.

We cannot have the good without the bad, so take time to enjoy all that the world has to offer. See both sides. Enjoy the things that existence reveals or has yet to tell us about ourselves and the human condition.

About the Author

Wayne Power is a writer, poet, spoken-word artist, dramatist who hails from Waterford, the city where he continues to live, work and write about. He has come to prominence in recent years, both locally and nationally, through his performance art, three volumes of his poetry that have been published to date and a play, Dress You Up, which had its world premiere in Waterford in 2024.