Critical praise for Christina's debut poetry collection
A native of Germany, Christina Hennemann was up to recently based in Ballina and is part of the local artist collective theNCF.
Acclaimed poet Christina Hennemann releases her highly anticipated debut collection (Shearsman Books), a powerful exploration of growing up, becoming, and belonging that charts the complex terrain between personal history and collective memory.
A native of Germany, she was up to recently based in Ballina and is part of the local artist collective theNCF.
In this notable debut, Hennemann demonstrates the keen ecological awareness and lyrical precision that have earned her recognition from Arts Council Ireland and multiple literary awards. Her poems traverse vivid landscapes from both her German roots and Irish home, exploring the intersections of gender, class, and sexuality against the backdrop of intergenerational trauma.
showcases Hennemann’s distinctive voice as she weaves personal history with ancient mythologies and archetypes into poems with a vatic and haunting nature. Her work reveals a playful approach to bilingualism and wordplay, as in ‘Hades Gothic’:
The collection has garnered exceptional praise from leading literary voices. Patrick Cotter notes: "Christina Hennemann presents here a collection densely interwoven with meaning and experience. She percolates childhood, girlhood, womanhood through a personal mythology inventive and original; with language cadent, elegant and sonically sparkling."
Sophie Dumont praises how "Christina Hennemann’s pulses with warmth and daring … part mirror, part blade – a knife passed down through generations".
Hennemann will celebrate the collection’s launch on November 15th at The Winding Stair, Dublin, from 6.30 to 8.30pm. The free event, open to all, will be launched by Damien Donnelly and feature four guest readers - Alicia Byrne Keane, Derval Tubridy, Eoin Cahill and Sinead McClure.
Hennemann’s impressive literary credentials include winning the Cerasus Poetry Chapbook Competition for Leafing (2024) and publishing (Book Hub, 2024). Her work has been funded with an Agility Award from Arts Council Ireland, and she has received the Luain Press Poetry Prize, a Diana Woods Memorial Award in Creative Nonfiction, and a Mayo Artist Bursary.
Birthmark is available through Shearsman Books’ website, as well as Amazon, and signed copies are available directly from the author.
