b'Note from Sarah Maria GriffinLast year, in the first pandemic summer, I had the joy of speaking tothis group of writers as part of the Edna OBrien Bursary, for just anhour.ThroughthestrangewindowsofZoom,Icouldsensesomething from thema dedication, a curiosityand here we areinthefollowingyearandtheyhavefoundsomethingtobuildtogether, to stay afloat with. The work in this anthology coursesthrough themes of identity, home, what we have lost during thispandemic, queerness and what it is to be young and queertocelebrate that, and to examine the day-in-day-out of it. There is naturebursting through so many of these pieces: they are deeply elementaland connected to the world, as well as looking inward. This crosssection of poetry is proof that there is energy bubbling away underthe quiet surface that the pandemic has placed down on us: proof thatif you give young, curious people space and encouragement to speakand make art with language they will. Poetry, especially that writtenby people who are just coming into themselves at this time, will actas a talisman of the pandemic. Not all was lost. There were thingsbuilt: tiny effigies in language that capture some of the emotion thatmay have otherwise passed in a blur during this strange year. Theseyoung writers are tenacious, they hold incredible promise: they makeme not only hopeful, but excited for the art that Ireland will have tooffer in the future.19'