Book Review: Echoes Lost In Stars

Reviewed by Addison Ciuchta

A lyrical collection combining ancient stories and modern faults that highlights both the smallness and grandness of our lives

Opening with an introduction by the author that gives the reader a taste of what is to come, Echoes Lost in Stars is split into four sections “from sun to sunset; from starlight to stars.” 

Poems within each section take on both heavy and light topics like nature, death, love, and loss. The poet, too, incorporates Irish mythology from his own Irish heritage. Each poem is short, no longer than one page, making this easy to pick up and read in a spare moment.

Conway has a particularly strong sense of rhythm in the sonnets or sonnet-adjacent poems in this collection. He writes of landscapes and ancient mythology, with a soft and sometimes old-timey writing style that suits well to the more traditional structure. He knows when to shorten words, like “‘neath” rather than “beneath” or “‘cross” rather than “across,” to keep the meter flowing smoothly.

“grasping for meaning or a lack thereof / reminded of that dream i once called love”

For those who shy away from the more traditional structured poems, Conway doesn’t only write sonnets. Each poem utilizes a different structure, rhyme scheme, and meter so the collection stays fresh as you turn each page. In some, the perspective is looking in from the outside of what’s happening in the poem. In others, the author uses “I” or other pronouns, giving a different point of view.

“a ghost among ghosts, past my prime, my time / for earthly love shall not transpire, for who / would kiss a shadow?”

At times, Conway’s choice to use more dated language does seem out of place or jarring when the rest of the poem is written in a more modern dialect. Additionally, the lack of capitalization occasionally feels at odds with the poems that take a more traditional approach.

“when my soul departs the indenture of life / shackled to land that was ne’er my own / please wash the grime from my wind-worn face / rife with fantigue from the labors i’ve known”

While many of the poems have a throughline of love, longing, loss, and what lasts, a few poems can feel off topic, like a poem called “whiskey” that takes on a comical tone about a man ordering a whiskey and wanting a man’s gold tooth.

Conway captures the very human feelings well, for example touching on the longing for a lasting legacy and the knowledge that our lives are short in multiple poems in the collection with lines like, “so they know / i was me / i had breath” and “recounting soft their tale… / i was here.” Conway’s inclusion of Irish heritage and mythology is a personal, unique touch that made me want to know more about each location and name mentioned—the mark of a meaningful poetic depiction.

With Echoes Lost in Stars, Conway captures the feeling of both light and dark, mixing myths and modern feelings into a quick lyrical read, as enjoyable for those new to poetry as it is for life-long fans.

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