Unlikely Tales of a First Encounter with Human Beings: A Beautiful Heresy

Michael Cunliffe sprouted from a seed pod rumoured to have been scattered in the Scottish Highlands, but it was no ordinary seed pod. Around a thousand years ago a seed pod that originated from somewhere in the deep darkness of outer space somehow made its way to earth. That’s right, it was not a seed pod of this world. How it got into the hands of Vikings (Vikings who ventured all the way to Scotland, no less) is still a mystery, there really aren’t many people still alive from that time period to ask about it.

As it happens, from that alien seed pod burst forth…a poet. Michael Cunliffe. That’s right. Can you believe it?

Can you imagine what life is like for a person who burst forth from an alien seed pod around a thousand years ago? Well, many of you probably can. Do you sometimes get a strange, nagging feeling that you are somehow different from people around you. What is considered normal to others is somewhat of an alien concept to you. Sound familiar?

And now…just what you didn’t know you’ve always been waiting for, a collection of poetry written by someone not from this planet, a collection written by a long-term visitor to this realm. Welcome to Michael Cunliffe’s second collection of poetry, Unlikely Tales of a First Encounter with Human Beings (a.k.a. A Beautiful Heresy).

As strange as human beings are, in them there is a great deal of magic to observe and to experience. There are many poems in this collection that celebrate the magic of the human experience, yet the experience of observing “normal” human behaviour is somewhat peculiar. It is a feeling of alienation but not necessarily in a demoralising sense, more so a sense of wonder or amusement or sometimes just sheer confusion.

This is a genuinely human collection of poetry that is living and breathing and ready to stand in front of an audience and scream, “This is Michael Cunliffe’s poetry!”