The Arrow

Pre-order now: for delivery November 2026 

"It never came back down!"

In Robert Powell's innovative fifth collection, a man contemplates his upbringing in a country he left long ago, haunted by its landscapes, the children and adults around him, and especially one friend – the truth-seeking fabulist, vulnerable boaster, iconoclast and trickster O'Connell. Years later, he returns to his native land with his pregnant wife, determined to discover the deeper significance of his past. What's revealed is by turns disturbing and life-affirming.

The poems in The Arrow are both personal and universal – intimate, humorous, imaginative, and unflinching. They explore the light and dark of childhood and adolescence, the nature of time in human experience, and the transformative power of memory. As much a coming-of-age tale as a collection of poems, these celebrations, elegies and confessions display all of Powell's skills as a mature poet and storyteller.