In his fifth collection, John W Sexton speaks to the deeply-rooted traditions of the Irish literary imagination: from the myths of pre-Christian times, through the Gothic horrors of Stoker and Le Fanu, to the early sci-fi romances of Fitz-James O'Brien and M.P. Shiel.These are poems of the altered mind, the cosmic journey, the subversion of logic and science. Yet for all their absorbing forays into the visionary, each work remains anchored by a profound and often painful wisdom.

"A lively and inventive poet."Books IrelandJohn W Sexton is the author of four previous poetry collections: The Prince's Brief Career (1995), Shadows Bloom / Scáthanna Faoi Bhláth, a book of haiku with translations into Irish by Gabriel Rosenstock (2004), Vortex (2005), and Petit Mal (2009). His poem 'The Green Owl' won the Listowel Poetry Prize in 2007. He also created and wrote the RTE children's radio programme The Ivory Tower, which ran to over 100 episodes. He lives in Co. Kerry.

In his fifth collection, John W Sexton speaks to the deeply-rooted traditions of the Irish literary imagination: from the myths of pre-Christian times, through the Gothic horrors of Stoker and Le Fanu, to the early sci-fi romances of Fitz-James O'Brien and M.P. Shiel.These are poems of the altered mind, the cosmic journey, the subversion of logic and science. Yet for all their absorbing forays into the visionary, each work remains anchored by a profound and often painful wisdom.

"A lively and inventive poet."Books IrelandJohn W Sexton is the author of four previous poetry collections: The Prince's Brief Career (1995), Shadows Bloom / Scáthanna Faoi Bhláth, a book of haiku with translations into Irish by Gabriel Rosenstock (2004), Vortex (2005), and Petit Mal (2009). His poem 'The Green Owl' won the Listowel Poetry Prize in 2007. He also created and wrote the RTE children's radio programme The Ivory Tower, which ran to over 100 episodes. He lives in Co. Kerry.