"We make out of the quarrel with others, rhetoric,
but of the quarrel with ourselves, poetry."
(W.B. Yeats)
the men I keep under my bed
A young woman wakes feeling raw and tender after a one-night stand. She leaves a strange man sleeping in her bed and goes running. Marked by the anxiety of living in a city that does not feel like home, she must face the memories and men kept under her bed.
About me
Alvy Carragher is an Irish poet based in Toronto. She has published two books of poetry and a children's novel. Her poetry has appeared in various anthologies, literary websites and publications such as The Irish Times, Poetry Ireland Review, The Guardian, and The Galway Review.
Her second poetry book "the men I keep under my bed" was published in 2021, and her debut collection of poetry, "Falling in love with broken things," was published in 2016, both by Salmon Poetry.
She represented Poetry Ireland as the delegate for the Poetry Ireland Introduction Series in 2016 in the Lincoln Center, NYC. Eavan Boland chose her as a featured poet in the 122nd issue of the Poetry Ireland Review.
Books
"It's not very feminist to consider myself a mouldy slut, I've agency over my body and all that 21st century shite"
the men I keep
under my bed
(Poetry)
"Back then
I must have been scared
of everything,
fear of swans, mostly,
and dying without saying anything."
Falling in love
with broken things
(Poetry)
"Bowls and spoons are shapes that hold despair well. Unlike forks, which only poke holes in the sadness."
The Cantankerous Molly Darling
(Children's book)
Reviews
"The deliberate and considered syntax
and artful pacing unfolds a self,
not just a situation."
Eavan Boland
Poetry Ireland Review
The best way to get in touch is to send me a quick email