{"title":"Andrea Ballou","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAndrea Ballou\u003c\/strong\u003e crafts evocative works that explore the nuanced intersections of memory, identity, and the passage of time. Her writing, marked by a keen sensitivity to cultural and artistic themes, invites readers to reflect deeply on personal and collective histories.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith titles like \u003cem\u003eOther Times\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eMidnight\u003c\/em\u003e, Ballou's work resonates within the realms of \u003cstrong\u003eArts \u0026amp; Culture\u003c\/strong\u003e, offering a rich tapestry of voice and perspective that both challenges and enchants. Her books are ideal for those drawn to thoughtful, lyrical explorations of human experience.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"other-times-midnight-by-andrea-ballou-9780892556083","title":"Other Times, Midnight","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eOther Times, Midnight\u003c\/em\u003e, her debut collection, Andrea Ballou explores the aftermath of loss—death, divorce, and departures—and asks the toughest questions: how do we contend with grief and remorse, and where does the spirit go to wait out trauma?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBallou's poems fight our \"impulse to not speak,\" aware that naming, and that speech itself, is a matter of life and death. Her startling and often humorous images, rooted in the fields, forests, and domesticity of rural life, are juxtaposed with oblique, at times irreverent, adaptations of Celtic and Greek myth and biblical stories.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFor Ballou, language is both tool and weapon, as useful and durable as a hoe, wheelbarrow, sword, thread. Caught \"in the mouth of midnight,\" these poems wrestle with the numinous, their voices—cranky and cajoling, always compassionate and vulnerable—urging us toward the fullness of being human, daring us, despite it all, to love again.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47461228675308,"sku":"9780892556083","price":31.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780892556083-other-times-midnight.jpg?v=1774962762"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/andrea-ballou.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}