Lulu Marketplace

This is a short collection of work by Berni Kerr. The poems were written over a period of about 20 years and reflect many changes in life; love lost (Portrush Sunday, 1979; Remembering Gerry Grainger), the Troubles (Patrick, The Statement, William Street, Derry, January 2002), motherhood (The Perfect Mother), mental illness (Medicated, Guess Who Stopped Their Medication Again?, Episode), and loss (For Mary, Commemoration). There is also an element of comedy (The Virgin Snow, The Psychiatrists’ Poem) and a certain dark humour (Spike Milligan is Dead, The Lonely Poet). Happy Christmas Barbie and Meat lead into areas most people prefer not to contemplate. Berni has received many accolades for her poetry. In 2001 she was nominated for the prestigious Hennessey Literary Award for emerging Irish writers, for her poem “The Perfect Mother”. Berni no longer writes poetry, but is enjoying success as a playwright.