Cahal Dallat’s ground-breaking debut collection saw him hailed as ‘the unsung genius of Irish poetry’ (Guardian). The Year of Not Dancing, a profoundly autobiographical book, marks his long-awaited poetic return. This collection is dedicated to his mother, who died when Dallat was eleven. Her death becomes the focus for a poignant but unsentimental exploration of family relationships and legacies across three generations. Poised between past and present, between growing up in a small town in the Glens of Antrim and the worlds of adulthood and parenthood in London, The Year of Not Dancing explores the bonds of family and belatedly seeks to come to terms with loss through the redemptive power of memory and love. This tender, candid and beautifully crafted collection confirms Dallat as one of the most exciting voices in Irish poetry.