A Middle-Aged Orpheus Looks Back at His Life

In his new book of sonnets, Gabriel examines his life in a small community in the south west of Ireland where he has spent all of his life and where he worked as an elementary school teacher for over thirty years. He examines his life from youth to the present day, as he approaches his sixtieth birthday. He writes about growing up in a village that played Beckett, Thornton Wilder, and Lady Gregory; the Irish language; old age, sickness, and death; as well as new life, parenthood, and grandparenthood; and Irish music, sports, politics, and conflict.