The Lucky Star of Hidden Things takes its title from the translated name of a star called Sadalachbia, part of the constellation Aquarius. In the Arab deserts, the star’s appearance prompts nomads to seek pastures new; here Afric McGlinchey traces her own nomadic upbringing in the south of Africa. These are the poems of a perennial outsider: questioning and challenging, but shadowed in doubt.
“An exciting and innovative Irish writer.”
Leanne O’Sullivan
“Afric McGlinchey writes brave and erotically charged poems. Her words mine the pain of love and capture an early exile in Africa with an acute and affecting music. Her poetry seduces and enthralls.”
Paul Perry
Afric McGlinchey grew up in Ireland and South Africa. In 2010 she won the Hennessy Emerging Poetry Award. Her work has appeared in The Shop, Southword, Poetry Ireland Review, Scottish Poetry Review, Acumen, Magma and other magazines. Her recent awards include a Faber Academy Fellowship, a Pushcart Prize nomination and commendations in the Magma and Dromineer Poetry Competitions. She is an editor, reviewer and tutor, and lives in Kinsale, County Cork.