Flirting with Tigers

The poems in Amy Abdullah Barry’s debut collection are prompted by wonder and appreciation, by travel and discovery. Indeed it might be said that travel is an essential ingredient for this Malaysia-born poet based in Ireland – affording an opportunity to see things and the connections between them with a fresh eye. This distinctive debut contains reports of encounters in places as far afield as China’s Great Wall and the Shannon Basin, responses to her Irish experiences and inspirations from the world of art. But what unites these poems, and gives them their essential power, are the glimpses of the poet’s origin story in her native Malaysia, the personalities and relationships of an extended family life that continues to provide the measure for subsequent experiences. Barry’s is a deceptively light-footed verse, delivered with humour and a feisty independence of spirit. These poems record the arrival of a welcome and distinctive voice in poetry from Ireland.