In Lani O’Hanlon’s new collection of poems, dance is, variously, a way for her young mother ‘to pay the milk bill, the bread bill’, a practical method for coming together, and “a homage to the women they called unmarried mothers”. At the heart of O’Hanlon’s poetry is connection and community, and the poems reach towards and connect with formative moments in the poet’s childhood as they also offer guidance and companionship on the road ahead.
