SplittingtheMoon Format: Paperback

Splitting the Moon tracks scholar and author Dr Joel Hayward's intriguing journey into Islam, his fascination with the mysteries of faith, his experiences and observations as a Western Muslim, and his thoughts on the state of the Ummah (Islamic community) today. He writes his poetry to capture events each day in the way that some people keep a diary. They are therefore deeply personal, yet reflect the ever-changing world around him.

Dr Joel Hayward's career highlights include having been Dean of the prestigious Royal Air Force College for five years and head of a King's College London academic division for six years. He is the author or editor of many works of non-fiction. He is also very active in the literary arts, and has written regular columns in emel and other Islamic magazines and published much fiction and poetry.

His first poetry collection, Lifeblood, appeared in 2003. The Evening Standard described it as "memorable and insightful". Chaff's reviewer wrote: "Hayward's eclectic poetry reflects his enigmatic mind. ... His poems are passionate and full of rich images and exert a strong and dignified intelligence. Hayward exerts a courageous strength, rebelling against his past creative constraints, and in perhaps a flush of originality and ambitious flair, has achieved a work of art." Lifeblood is now available in Kindle format.