- Culture
- 11 Jun 18
Hot on the heels of his debut volume of poetry released last November, Emmet O'Brien is launching his new collection entitled 'Yup Ouveh' on 21 June.
With his first book entitled 'A Perspective from the Corrupt Mind of the Youth', the 20-year-old Dubliner discussed various taboo subjects such as substance abuse and religion.
"My debut book was released back in November and it was essentially a collection of poetry where I torn down my previous beliefs and ideologies after realising the crucial flaws that lie within them, i.e. religion," he told Hot Press.
"Since then I have gained a new philosophy on life and started to gain new beliefs on life. This book essentially goes through them beliefs, talking about current issues within myself but also my issues with society.
"And also, I talk about old times and certain people who were once in my life but unfortunately are not here anymore. It really is a journey within a book which will move readers as well as captivate them."
Members of the public can attend the launch which will take place at Drop Dead Twice, 19 Francis Street, Dublin on 8pm 21 June.
O'Brien, who is best known for his video "the North side" is also an event organiser and started-up the poetry and music event "Vybrations" in June 2017. It has been an incredible success so far, with artists such as Colm Keegan and Hazel Hogan preforming at it.
More recently, O'Brien has teamed up with the poet Geoff to write a play, which is due to be out by the end of the year.
Speaking to Hot Press about his new book, Emmet O'Brien told us: "I find it hard to pick a favourite piece as I have a few which I relate to a lot. There are a broad range of topics that are discussed throughout the book, one of which would be heartbreak, throughout my first book I talked a lot about love, since then I have been on the more unfortunate side of things in regards to a love life, and so this is discussed throughout the book."
But he says that one of his favourite poems is entitled 'P.S.' in which he discusses "heartbreak, and how tough a break up can be under certain circumstances, and how it is hard to move on from the person you love, who may not love you back."
He adds: "The realisation is raw, and that is shown through the piece. My favourite line from the piece would be 'I want to strike the match of love and watch this world burn, and as it would I was just gaze into your eyes.
"However, I still venture back to my original roots and original form of poetry, poetry that has a very hip hop vibe to it, where I talk about growing up as a working class man and the problems that working class people go through during everyday life.
"This can be seen in a poem entitled 'In The Life Of A Scauld' where I talk about growing up in Cabra and all the things we would do, that we would consider normal but to your everyday upper class people would shock them. It’s about having cans with your cornflakes."
Emmet has also dealt in some of his new poignant poems about with the pain of missing loved ones. "There is a lot of talk about missing loved ones. Throughout 2018 I have lost some close people, and it has really made me reflect upon good times that we had, and how I miss them times now that they are gone," he explains.
"I talk a lot about loved ones who are no longer with me, and how I appreciate the impact they have had on my life, and how I will miss them now that they are gone.
"In one of the latter poems of the book, 'Quality not quantity' I talk about a friend who passed away earlier this year. I reminisce on all our good memories, from when we initially met, to our final days together.
"It really is a moving piece, and a rare time to see me without my mask on, opening up to readers. “In actuality the pride you had was sheer bravery,You were not becoming a slave to the oppressors of society,You were proud to be you, And that’s what got my attention.”