the men I keep under my bed

“it’s not very feminist to consider myself a mouldy slut
I’ve agency over my body and all that 21st-century shite”

A young woman wakes feeling raw and tender after a one-night stand. She leaves a strange man sleeping in her bed and goes running. Marked by the anxiety of living in a city that does not feel like home, she must face the memories and men kept under her bed.

Praise for Alvy Carragher’s poetry:

“The deliberate and considered syntax and artful pacing unfolds a self, not just a situation.” — EAVAN BOLAND

“A skilful and sensitive poet who possesses a high degree of psychological insight and tact, and her portrayal of the emotional undercurrents between people is at the same time forceful and subtle.” — EVA BOURKE

“Carragher makes art that transcends the particular to find and describe truth and beauty in apparently broken things.” — ELEANOR HOOKER

“Carragher is, in short, a real writer. Her words tend to stick with you, partly because she always has a real story to tell.” — KEVIN HIGGINS

“A moving study of big poetic subjects such as family, difficult relationships and loss, and while such themes have been explored by many poets, Alvy brings to it a freshness that is totally hers. In a voice that is natural and without sentimentality, it carries a lovely musicality and holds its own on the page.” — GERALDINE MILLS