Breaking down and Poetry

By Maureen Oliver ISBN: 9781847471215 Published: 2007 Pages: 129 Key Themes: poetry, schizophrenia, activism Description This is a collection of two books - Breaking Down & Poetry, both first published by Chipmunkapublishing in 2005 & 2006. 'Breaking Down' is the personal record of a 'psychotic' breakdown. The author was, at the time, a single mother and lesbian activist campaigning vigorously for gay rights. She faithfully recorded her visions and voices, and the diary shows her desperate attempt to make sense of, and to survive, mental disintergration and schizophrenia. This inspiring collection of poems was written over a twenty-five year period and documents the experiences and thoughts of Maureen during this most tumultuous period of her life. Her poems are warm and her language elegant. In the new genre of 'mad poetry' this is a key collection, written by one of its main exponents. About the Author Maureen Oliver is a lesbian artist and poet, a mother and grandmother, and a psychiatric survivor with a current diagnosis of Schizoaffective Disorder.