View from the Cheap Seats

Poet Barry Holland wasn't born to riches and fancy things in South Wales. He recalls, blithely, that his family was so poor when he was young that, in wintertime, his dad would suck an extra strong mint and the whole family would sit around his tongue to stay warm. Now, he looks back on forty-two years of living in Newport and what those years have meant.

View from the Cheap Seats is a collection of fictions, imaginings, as well as true stories from Holland's tumultuous life. He writes of his battles with mental illness as well as the challenges of being a single parent-with a mental illness. Poems draw upon visions Holland saw while sick to real people, the wild characters he's met along the way.

Despite life's difficulties, Holland weaves his quirky sense of humor through every word. He dedicates pages to his beloved son, Leuan-Holland's favorite rugby player and best friend-and some serious words to delusion. But no matter how dark things get, how desperate the times, Holland believes in seeing the levity and finding whatever it is that keeps you laughing.