Music Lesson

Praise for Gaye Walsh and Thats That
Generations of an Irish family cope with decades of personal and political turmoil in Walshs endearing debut novel.
. . . patient and revealing narrative that emanates a spark.
Walsh, a poet, has a keen eye for detail most admirably in poignant moments a less insightful author might deem unremarkable.
A breezy read from a capable talent.
- Kirkus Reviews

Photograph: Russell Metz

This is a diverse collection of poems. The initial poems deal with the death of the poets parents, their early lives together, and the immediate aftermath of sudden death with all the ghostly impressions and shadows such death leaves behind. Some poems dance around an early childhood in rural Ireland in a light way, some not so light, and the darker poems were born from the shadows created by the loss of the poets father. Such emotions common to all, but expressed here in Walshs unique voice.

I recall that when I was about ten years old, I told my father I was frightened of ghosts. He said it was the living I should be afraid of, not the dead. In my innocence, I did not believe him.

Gaye Walsh was raised on a farm in Doneraile, County Cork, Ireland. She now lives in Seattle, Washington.

This is her first poetry collection.

Back cover photo: Russell Metz