Launch of collection of poetry with Syrian refugee voices – On the Other Side of the Beach, Light, by Daniel Skyle

 

On the other side of the Beach, Light – voices of Syrian refugees on war, flight, and building a new life, is a unique collection of poems based on interviews the writer Daniel Skyle did while volunteering for years with Syrian refugees. He interviewed them, then wrote their stories as poems to help people understand refugees more.

Many of those he interviewed later were test readers of the collection, to make certain they felt their voices came through as they wanted. 

And these are the voices of refugees: their love, their incredible bravery, their grief, shaped by experiences during conflict and flight. The collection takes us on a journey to highlight the refugee experience of war, surviving the sea, and integrating in a new place.

Most of those interviewed fled from Syria, but the poems are written to show the experiences of refugees from all conflicts, all wars, to help people understand more about refugees and why they flee. These are the voices of both the living and the dead, showing our common humanity through love, compassion beyond belief, and how we all can heal from trauma.

Haunting in their detailed evocation of what it means to live through conflict and leave your home, Daniel Skyle's tender, vivid and redemptive poems give voice to the victims of the war in Syria. Coaxing the sublime from a terrible violence with "a desperate gentleness", this collection will stay with the reader long after the last page has been turned. 

               – Jack Houston, author of The Fabulanarchist Luxury Uprising (The Emma Press)

 

These words really describe mine and others stories, emotions, and memories. This is our life; this is how we felt. It is so important and wonderful that people can read these stories. Especially those who have no idea about how refugees have suffered in war, and what their situation was like when they left their country, and the dangers they faced during their journey to Europe. We had no choice. A thousand thank yous for telling the world about the stories and pain of refugees.

                                                                                                    – Hanna, refugee from Syria 

 

Published by Stairwell Books, April 2022: You can pre-order the book here!

Contact for the collection, readings, and book commissions: skylewriting at protonmail dot com. You can also follow his writing and peek into coming collections and novels @skylewriting on Instagram, or at Daniel Skyle - Author on Facebook.

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