Íkaros by Hetherington, Paul NEUF 2024

Paul Hetheringtons long prose poem Ikaros crafts from the myth of the same name, a unique inspiration and imagination spanning multiple layers of time and consciousness, incorporating memory and dreamscapes into an exceptionally potent exploration of a journey 2024 through to self-awareness. Central to the myth of Ikaros and to this collection is the relationship between father and son portrayed by Hetherington with exquisite honesty and tenderness, at once explorative and elegiac. His visions complexity is expressed in clear, honed language, its fresh imagery enabling a rare and compassionate depth of insight. This is a painterly, highly visual and visceral work with compelling underlying cadences and rhythms. Hetherington gifts the reader with "a necklace of words; utterances like waves and beach-tossed stones" and a telling capacity to listen closely and to see clearly.