Green Tobacco

Joseph Allen's new collection, Green Tobacco, unashamedly explores the everyday lives of ordinary people of his native Co Antrim. He is a poet capable of conveying anger, alienation, contemplation and humour.

The exploration of the seemingly mundane is countered with ruminations on figures from world history, adding layers of reflection and context and enhancing their relevance to the present.

As a jazz and blues musician himself, Allen also celebrates the power, joy and imaginative freedom of both genres, drawing strength and inspiration from the lives of some of its greatest practitioners: Karen Dalton, Chet Baker, Son House, Charley Patton, Howlin’ Wolf, Leadbelly, Rory Block, and Ishmon Bracey.

Unfussy and wary of easy rhetoric, Allen’s poems don’t preach, but engage the reader with their insight, clarity and modesty.

Green Tobacco shows an artist firmly in control of his craft.

About the author:

Joseph Allen was born in Ballymena, Co. Antrim. He has published six poetry collections: The Sound of Rooms (2000), Night Patrol (2001), Landscaping (2003), Family Plot (2008), Looking for Robert Johnson (2011), and Clabber Street Blues (published by Greenwich Exchange, 2016).

As well as a poet, he is also a Delta Blues singer/guitarist/harmonica player. He has appeared throughout Ireland as a solo performer as well as appearing with the cream of bands on the Irish music scene as a Blues harp player.

ISBN: 978-1-910996-61-4

No of Pages: 80pp