In Another World: Van Morrison & Belfast

Description

In Another World is a unique trip through Belfast, mapped into the mystic through the timeless music of Van ‘the Man’ Morrison. The aptly soulful and inventive prose stems from the electric wit of acclaimed poet and fellow Belfast man, Gerald Dawe.

Struck by the extraordinary brand of rhythm and blues that was Morrison’s brainchild, Dawe’s book is a celebration of the inspirations that underline Morrison’s music. Silhouetted in the work is Belfast, moody and vibrant, and the formative influence of the pre-Troubles northern capital on Morrison’s musical direction.

Dawe’s writing transmutes the tender and unforgettable strains of Morrison’s work, from the release in 1968 of Astral Weeks to the publication in 2014 of Lit Up Inside: Selected Lyrics. A powerful tribute to mark Van Morrison’s accomplishments, In Another World taps into his legacy’s eclectic soul and is kin to its enchantments.

About the Author
Gerald Dawe has published ten books of poetry, including The Lundys Letter, Sunday School, Lake Geneva, Points West, Mickey Finn’s Air and The Last Peacock. His other publications include The Wrong Country: Essays on Modern Irish Writing, The Sound of the Shuttle: Essays on Cultural Belonging & Protestantism in Northern Ireland and Looking Through You: Northern Chronicles (2020). He is the recipient of numerous awards and honours, including the Macaulay Fellowship in Literature.

Praise for In Another World: Van Morrison & Belfast

‘A lovely and lively little book … all about lost moments, fleeting possibilities and half-forgotten histories … Another world indeed, a past captured in these bittersweet essays that might also stand for a possible future.’
Fintan O’Toole, The Irish Times