Inside Out (ePub)

Inside Out is the debut collection of poetry by Tommy Collins where we have the beginnings of poetic sensibility – observing, exploring, testing and seeking to develop an authentic and unique voice. Throughout the work there is a sense of both detachment and participation where the poet is involved in, yet observing from outside – interpreting, shaping and making sense of experience. - Kieran Beville

Tommy Collins's poems are rooted in the physical and social geography of his native city and are characterised by an alluring sensuousness and emotional honesty. Inside Out is a welcome and deserving addition to the canon of Irish poetry. - Michael Durack

Tommy Collins' debut collection Inside Out shimmers from within its prismatic languages of Gaelic and English to cast the exquisite light of images and sounds from the rippled edges of the Shannon in Limerick where "beauty [is] triumphant over grief,/ so that in "socruithe sochraide",/ the Irish language translation of funeral arrangements, you/ just might find a rhythmic poetry,/ some sense of hope". - Sandra Yanone

His heartstrings and his poetic vision register a tender and verbal simplicity. May Bank Holiday, Limerick, greets the world with 'what we call fun.' Lyrical and colloquial, the poems that feature in Inside Out are a blend of youth, identity crisis and a series of deeply felt love letters: From Revival Press, Tommy Collins' debut collection Inside Out is very welcome, warm voiced and easy to enjoy. - Jim Burke