Sudden Light

by Enda Wyley

74 pages, Hardcover

Published October 13, 2025

About the author

ENDA WYLEY is a teacher and poet, and has had several books publishe

Reviews

[James Harpur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enda Wyley's 'Sudden Light' is marvel of sacred moments and of precious brief encounters with, say, strangers (a man who is asked to take a photograph, a woman glimpsed in the window of the house across the road) or a scrawny spectral fox appearing mysteriously at the front door ('Omen'). These hauntings intensify in 'All Souls' Day', where the visceral connection with the dead ('All of them are on the way back') is shiveringly established ('"Let me in," they call'); these hauntings manifest themselves, too, brilliantly, in photo albums, paintings and even graffiti ('U Are Alive'), where these visual prompts act as scintillae from Wyley's deep and affective memory and her warm humanity. In fact 'U Are Alive' could be her leitmotif: she is alive to the exquisite details of life, from spaghetti spilling onto a hot Italian street to the 'ring / on your finger glinting with love'. Throughout the book there is a magnanimous and magnificent tenderness informing whatever she chooses to write about, not least the powerful, poignant elegy to her mother, 'Photos of My Mother', in which the sacred bonds of mother and daughter shine out. 'Sudden Light' is a wonderful affirmation of life and living in all its suddenness, and all its light.

[Colin Schroyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Based upon this collection of poetry, Enda Wyley uniquely embodies Roland Barthes’ the death of the author, which could be more appropriately described as the birth of the art through the circumstance of its creation. Most, if not all, of these pieces emerged from artworks, events, and people, which makes this such a fascinating collection.

This will definitely be worth a reread in some later time, especially after having the honor and privilege to work with Wyley… so once my bias subsides, we’ll see how it holds up ;)

(But also Enda Wyley is an absolute gem and an incredible poet, full of so much insight and advice, but reading this felt like seeing the Wizard of Oz after meeting the man behind the curtain lol)

[Kendall Snee · Rating 5 out of 5]

A complete masterclass in allusion and control. We are so lucky to be working with Enda through the Carlow MFA program. I cannot get enough of her work.

Sudden light takes the reader through mourning, to Italy, to a room full of birds but also into the hearts of other beloved poets. I didn’t know a book could do those things simultaneously.