How to carry fire

Abstract

How to Carry Fire is a poetry collection which explores the literal and metaphorical incarnations of fire. It considers how destructive forces (such as family addiction) as well as cleansing experiences (such as finding love) can be represented using the language of fire. The collection is structured as a journey which encourages readers to follow the speaker across time and space—from past to present and from America to Wales. How to Carry Fire opens in the aftermath of a physical housefire and ends with a poem which speaks to how love can offset everything which ‘burns’.