From the Juniper Room

by Matthew Keeley

Remembered words and everyday items from unfinished knitting to left-behind boots take on new meaning in Matthew Keeley's debut poetry collection, From the Juniper Room, published by Drunk Muse Press. The book, written following the death of the poet's mother, explores bereavement, memory, and change, and includes poems that are both deeply personal to the poet yet recognisable to anyone who has experienced loss.

“In a remarkably intimate and raw exploration of time and place, of childhood and relationships, we travel with the poet through the mysterious and fluid stages of grief, and finally of hope; the unavoidable reality of moving forward on our path. We are reminded in Keeley’s work of the transformative nature of poetry, of our attempt to assuage the trauma of losing what was lost. A profoundly moving joy.” – Christine Bovill, winner of the Spirit of the Fringe Award

“Dreams often find their way to the fore in this deeply personal collection. In these poems, Keeley offers us his hand, inviting us to walk with him through his grief, his joy, his childhood. And throughout, he maintains a lightness of touch that makes this collection both immediately accessible and simultaneously transcendent.” – Allan Gaw, winner of the 2024 Bloody Scotland Debut Prize

55 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 2025

About the author

This author also writes under the pen name M.J. Keeley

Writing and reading have been life-long passions for me. I studied English Literature and Film & TV Studies at the University of Glasgow and am currently a full-time secondary school English teacher.

I write in various genres including speculative fiction, magic realism, literary fiction and non-fiction review writing. My main focus is novel-writing. My debut science-fiction novel, 'Turning the Hourglass', was released by Black Rose Writing in April 2019 and my coming-of-age novel 'The Stone in My Pocket' will be published by The Conrad Press in September 2020.