Tied to the Wind

Tied to the Wind is an auto-fictional prose poetry collection. The book portrays a young girl's attempts to tether herself to a life that keeps becoming unfixed, each time her family moves from Ireland to Southern Africa and back again. Her nomadic childhood triggers a sense of destabilisation, exacerbated by alcohol abuse, racism, war and the conflicts of complicit colonial privilege. Interwoven into the narrative are the puzzle pieces of a fateful decision to undertake a skydive, despite her fear of heights. These are the pieces with which to assemble a sense of self.

Review :
Tied to the Wind is a book of intense sensations, and kaleidoscopic atmosphere. I could almost feel its heat, smell its exotic fragrances. Beautiful and transporting. - Sara Baume, winner of many awards, including the Rooney Prize. Recent books are A Line Made by Walking Houghton, Mifflin, Harcourt) and Handiwork (Tramp Press). I loved Afric McGlinchey's lyrical and haunting memoir. Simultaneously intimate and epic, McGlinchey's search for belonging voyages the reader through a sequence of unforgettable landscapes, braiding beauty and challenge into a book that lingers long in the reader's heart. - Grace Wells (children's writer, poet and award-winning author of When God Has Been Called Away to Greater Things and Fur, Dedalus Press.) The hugely attractive and magical power of Afric McGlinchey's writing is found in the beautiful clarity of her storytelling, highlighting the intensity of formative years. Served up like postcards, this narrative cuts to the marrow of a family torn in all directions by culture, career and geographical location. Tied to the Wind is a mighty piece of work: powerful, insightful and fascinating - absolutely wonderful. - Conal Creedon (adjunct Professor of Creative Writing at University College Cork, award-winning playwright and author, most recently, of Second City trilogy.) Exquisite - a beautifully-written, lyrical charm. -- Paul McMahon (award-winning poet and playwright, author of The Pups in the Bog, Abbey Theatre.) Afric McGlinchey's long-form debut steals beguilingly across the spiderweb between poetry, memoir and novel, offering an exquisitely rendered narrative of a young, hurting, growing life. Lush, sensitive, harrowing, gloriously written. - Mia Gallagher (award-winning author of Hellfire and Beautiful Pictures of the Lost Homeland, published by New Island.) I loved the book. Searingly beautiful prose. - William Wall (award-winning author of poetry, short stories and novels, most recently, Alice Falling, published by Norton.) Waves of memorable images, where love is challenged, and home is ever in question. Where to be, how to be and how to love are the kinds of questions Tied to the Wind asks; it's a courageous and moving piece of work. - Paul Perry (award-winning poet, novelist, screen-writer and Associate Professor of Creative Writing at University College Dublin. Latest novel: The Garden, New Island.)