A luminous memoir from the prize-winning poet - a story of love, heartbreak and coming of age, and a tender exploration of queer identity.
When Seán meets Elias, the two fall headlong into a love story. But as Elias struggles with severe depression, the couple comes face to face with crisis. Wrestling with this, Seán Hewitt delves deep into his own history, enlisting the ghosts of queer figures and poets before him. From a nineteenth-century cemetery in Liverpool to the pine forests of Gothenburg, Hewitt plumbs the darkness in search of solace and hope. All Down Darkness Wide is a mesmerising story of heartache and renewal, and a fearless exploration of a world that too often sets happiness and queer life at odds.
WINNER OF THE ROONEY PRIZE FOR IRISH LITERATURE 2022
'A stunning meditation on love and heartbreak, this feels like an essential work of the new Irish queer canon' - Sunday Times
'A remarkable memoir of love and sorrow' - Observer
'We are witnessing the emergence of a major talent... stunning. A space will need to be made on the Queer Classics shelf' - Irish Independent
'Intensely original... some of the most beautiful prose I've read in years' -- Alexander Chee - The Atlantic
'Exquisitely written... a fervent appeal for presence and belonging' -- Claire Messud - Harper's Magazine
Author
About Seán Hewitt
Seán Hewitt's debut collection of poetry, Tongues of Fire (2020), won the Laurel Prize in 2021. His memoir, All Down Darkness Wide (2022), won the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature in 2022. He lives in Dublin.
