Awards

• Winner of Kafka Prize 2022 (UK)

Overview

David’s book is one of despair and hope; one that paints a picture of our society that is both dark and broken up by fleeting rays of light. From his plight on the streets in one of England’s richest regions, to the interactions of people he observes and encounters every day, to the impacts of Covid-19 and the changing seasons–this is poetry and prose at its most powerful. It is a book that reveals the double-talk of homeless service provision – a society that consigns people as worthless without knowing their backgrounds; which assumes that homelessness is a choice rather than a predicament. It is impossible not to have read this book and come away changed: to feel the biting need to make a difference and sense of injustice as to why so many individuals–people who could otherwise fulfil their potential, for the benefit of others as well as themselves–are thrown cruelly to the fringes.

Full Product Details

9781912092789

Table of Contents

Reviews

In this poetry anthology, the author draws on personal experience to depict an entirely raw and honest account of what it's like to be homeless. Following the author's emotional journey, the reader empathises to an extent where you understand how nearly everything that exists can become a hurdle. An example of this is through the personification of the seasons, where something with no malicious intent has such a destructive presence. The beauty of these poems is in the author's detailed observations. Absolutely everything has been noticed by the author and deemed impactful, from friends that were made, to the bees during the warmer seasons. This fully opens the reader's awareness, allowing them to sincerely connect to the author's experiences. - Amran Abdiqadir Mohamed

Author Information

David Onamade, BA (Eng.Lit - Open), MA (Creative Writing - Exeter) has been writing since 1991, including poetry, the novel and screenplay, even when doing something else for a living. Now a full-time writer, Living Pains is his first published poetry book. His first fantasy novel the Plight of the Unborn, Book One of the Shadows in the Dark trilogy, is in production and due out soon. David has worked in racial equality all his life, with part-time editorial roles in the FreeNews, Poetry Voices and Storylines. David is homeless near Bristol, to be close to his two children.

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