The Juno Charm

by Nuala Ní Chonchúir

In the tapestry that is The Juno Charm, award-winning writer Nuala Ní Chonchúir explores the worlds of two marriages - one waning, one waxing - and the pain of pregnancy loss and fertility struggles. This is an intimate book where the reader is taken by the emotional resonance of the poems, as much as by the exploration of the use of amulets and charms. The poems travel comfortably from County Galway to Manhattan's skyscrapers, and from the Seine in Paris to Dublin's Liberty Hall. Ní Chonchúir once again employs her signature sensual frankness in poems of love and the body. Sometimes irreverent, always vivid, this is poetry ripe with imaginative possibility and wit.

Genres: Poetry

84 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Also writes as Nuala O'Connor.

Ní Chonchúir studied at Trinity College Dublin, receiving a BA in Irish, and at Dublin City University, receiving a Masters in Translation Studies (Irish/English). She now lives in Galway.

Reviews

[CAG_1337 · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit uneven, but she is clearly a gifted writer. Her poems are at their most impactful when they deal with something personal and intimate (her relationships, conceiving a child, etc.). Many of the poems were unremarkable.

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Juno Charm by Nuala Ní Chonchúir (2011, 83 pages)

The Juno Charm by Nuala Ní Chonchúir (Ireland, 1970) is a wonderfully beautiful collection of short poems about good and bad marriages, art, giving birth, sexual passion, Ireland and much more. We travel from Dublin to Japan to the banks of the Siene in Paris. We ponder the fate of Esmeralda from Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame and contemplate the serene power of the statue of the Madonna of Akita. Like many an Irish writer, Chonchúir is very rooted in her country. I could feel the love of Ireland in her poems, no matter where she went she never really seems to leave it far behind.

Her poems range from cerebral texts that require more a serious knowledge of the history of the visual arts to really understand to shocking poems about sexual passion.

[Katie Laugen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting poetry collection for contemporary audiences. At first I started reading it as a complete whole rather than individual poems, but they stand alone beautifully.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful poetry. Simplistic, but strong imagery and word choice. Features some erotic themes, as well as references to art and other poetry.