Shoulder Tap
Shoulder Tap by Maurice Riordan, published by Faber in 2021, is a collection of poetry that spans 53 pages. The poems explore a range of themes through a first-person perspective, presenting speakers whose minds are both complex and multifaceted. The collection delves into feelings of unease, loss, and wishfulness, offering a blend of dark artistry and illumination.
Readers will encounter a variety of poetic forms, including disquieting songs and poignant elegies, as well as reflections on contemporary issues. The work engages with the legacy of Trumpism and features encounters with vivid imagery, drawing on influences from notable poets like Baudelaire and Rilke. With a mix of mischief and humor, Shoulder Tap provides a thought-provoking experience that resonates with the complexities of modern life.
Official synopsis Publisher
SHORTLISTED FOR THE POETRY PIGOTT PRIZE IN ASSOCIATION WITH LISTOWEL WRITERS’ WEEK
Throughout these poems, with their roaming sense of first-person, there is depth at work where the speakers’ minds are cavernous and echoic, primal and sophisticated, observant and raw, in and out of control of themselves. The effect is thrilling and unpredictable, at once a dark art and an illumination of unease and loss and wishfulness. The collection features disquieting songs of a mutable self alongside poignant elegies, interior journeys and subtle (and not so subtle) ripostes to the legacy of Trumpism – while elsewhere encounters with ghostly feet and tongues of fire consort with riffs on Baudelaire, Rilke and Laforgue. These poems twinkle with mischief and humour, making for a pungent and haunting read. Riordan – a poet whose strong, rippling influence is felt by all in his wake – affirms his reputation at the forefront of contemporary poetry.
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