Beyond the Apple Tree is a first collection of poems from the pen of Ben Mac Caoilte.
When the first lockdown rolled into our shocked consciousness in early 2021, Ben had just moved with his young family to rural Co. Wexford.
Hiding his Kilkenny jersey beneath layers of coats he took to walking the quiet rural roads as we were all forced to pause and reflect at the start of a strange new era.
For Ben, it was the people that he had crossed paths with- his childminder Peggy who encouraged him to steal apples for a sweet tart treat, an old man being forced out of his home for a motorway of modern excellence or the lonely walker who had haunted tales of a boot room and stolen songs.
The Kilkenny Observer caught up with Ben and asked him what working on the project meant to him.
“Beyond the Apple Tree has been such a rewarding project to work on for the last year and has allowed me to work with some incredible people”, Ben said.
“Each poem explores a moment or relationship in my life that has shaped me as a person, and I’m really looking forward to sending the album out Beyond my Apple tree”, Ben concluded.
People and lives that mattered, their stories lifting out of the mist of past experience and reminding Ben of all that had happened beyond his new apple tree.
Ben’s poems remind us of smiles exchanged and of lived moments that give us a glimpse of the deep wells that we all draw on for making our way through the world.
Musical flashes from Fort Vine and Lily Brodie Hayes make this collection a ‘must have’ for anyone trying to make sense of all that might pass.
The album will be released by Crannóg Media on December 14th and can be purchased for €13 including postage via PayPal using the email address benmaccaoilte@gmail.com including full postage address.
