They say every cloud has a silver lining.

This book of poems and photographs is the result of IRRITATING THE SILVER LINING with the grit of Dave Kurley’s imagination for the last couple of years. In here you will find a veritable downpour of little pearls, perfectly formed. There is love of many different kinds. Misplaced anger. Grief and loss. Musings on anxiety and depression. The pandemic (inevitably). And there is open-mouthed wonder at the nature that surrounds us. Oh, and some of it’s pretty funny, too.

Dave Kurley is constantly amazed by the fact he was born in Sheffield in 1962. He has been, at various times, an actor, a dry stone waller, a civil servant, a stand-up comedian, a sales rep, a singer, a pub manager, a playwright, a call centre operative and a podcaster. This list is neither exhaustive nor complete. Currently, he is a prize-winning poet and a conversational English tutor. These things are subject to change.

He is equally amazed that these days he lives in central Portugal, with his lovely wife Alison (this is not subject to change), and a lot of sunshine and butterflies. He enjoys performing his poetry, both live and online. You’ll find him in Kurleybobs’ Poetry Corner on Instagram or Facebook. Say hello when you get there. He’d like that.

About the author

Dave Kurley wrote the lyrics for all but one song for the band New Model Soldier, who existed from 1980 to 1983 and then reappeared in 2015 for a year or so. You can find their stuff on Spotify, if you fancy it. He wrote a play called Your Great Interest which was performed by the Crucible Youth Theatre in Sheffield in 1984. He worked with the Croydon Youth Theatre in the late 1990s to devise two plays, one called Seven and the other called Us. His wife Alison and he co-wrote and co-presented a podcast called Proper English, aimed at helping intermediate level English language learners. He found his poetic muse during the pandemic, and since the beginning of 2021, he has been writing a poem every day.

IRRITATING THE SILVER LINING is his first book of poetry.

Excerpt from “Irritating the Silver Lining”

“Seeding inchoate clouds
Until they darken and bloat
Become pleasingly plump plums
Salting the cumulonimbus
Until the contents calcify
And can no longer remain aloft
Irritating the silver lining
Until the sky weeps mother’s pearls

Perfectly perfect, unblemished spheres
Precious hail for eager, grasping fingers
To pluck for punnets
From shattered windshields
Concave bonnets
And flayed allotments
After the beautiful glistening downpour.”

“Irritating the Silver Lining” by Dave Kurley is currently available in paperback (ISBN #978-1803694276)

Available through all good booksellers including Amazon, Waterstones and Barnes & Noble

For interview, comment and information about this book of poetry from New Generation Publishing, email: [email protected] or call 01234 711 956