From 2019, he has produced two plays (We Taught Our Children How to Lie, The Man Who Swallowed a Dictionary), compiled two collections of writing (Troubles Curriculum, No Milk Today) and worked with Gareth Mulvenna on various events looking at the development of the Tartan gangs. All of which have been acclaimed and recognised outside the boundaries of (what is referred to as) the PUL community.
This, his new collection, looks back at a pre-Troubles time. Examining the mundane security of living in a tight-knit community while also embracing a childish wonder at the world, it acts as both a eulogy for and examination of a period and group of people relegated to history.
The opening poem ‘7:00am – 1965’ depicts the strenuous repetition of work and school in an era long before Google Classroom. This particular stanza pays tribute to those who were manual workers in a pre-deindustrialisation era:
The quietness of the men trudging to work-labouring men-hands buried
deep in pockets
and shoulders hunched in opposition to the slight chill-deep in thought
and contemplating pay day-which seems a long way off.
It does put the morning commute to the office in perspective.
‘Blackbird on a Summer Morning’ acts as both a Padraic Fiacc like homage to the beauty of birds and nature while also hinting at the various battles that will occur in the summer. ‘Down the Docks Autumn 1964’ contrasts the grime of the docks with the endless possibilities that it has to offer.
My personal favourite is ‘No Libero-No Wing Backs’ where childhood games of football are discussed and held up as golden days. This stanza captures both the flexible rules that kids adopt when playing and also how their worldview can seem grandiose to them but, to an adult, is quite narrow:
-Nets and Out-
Three corners a penalty
No throw-ins
The touchline
-in theory
ran from the Raven to the Ormeau Road
from Oakley to Park Parade”
Quite a stretch, I’m sure you’ll agree!
Carly Mitchell provides illustrations throughout. Seemingly set in 2024 (owing to the boarded-up houses on display) they act as a contrast to Niblock’s poems which have a sense of optimism undergirding them. Are these poems calls from a different time, haunting the area? Or are they cruel memories protruding into the subject’s psyche as he tries to make sense of what has happened to the area? Who knows, but they work brilliantly.
Running to 20 pages, this is another magnificent collection from Niblock. He’s successfully tapping into an area of Belfast literature that needs more exploration so let’s hope he continues to do so.
Robert ‘Beano’ Niblock, 2024, Before the Storm. ACT Initiative. Privately Published.
⏩ Christopher Owens was a reviewer for Metal Ireland and finds time to study the history and inherent contradictions of Ireland. He is currently the TPQ Friday columnist.
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