Sorry for the Silence by Ian R. Braddock

Post-Punk Reflections and an Urban Answer to the Problems of Conscience

As the title may suggest, Sorry for the Silence by Ian R. Braddock is a volume of poetry that has had a long gestation period. At the same time, it also reflects a certain kind of soul-searching that comes with finding one's voice, having one's eyes opened and the discomfort with feeling mute in the face of difficult or challenging situations. The author chooses neither to to embellish nor to mitigate and this results in candid observations that demonstrate a rare and remarkable perceptiveness, informed by a characteristic candour and honesty.

I stood in my doorway and told a story
As tall as tall can be,
Aware that in running from the children's gaze,
I know how cowardly… I am. 

The very least I can give these souls
That stand in the line to die,
Is an honest account of why I won't
Not some pathetic lie.
Shame on me.

- Liar by Ian R. Braddock, from the volume Sorry for the Silence

So who then is Ian R. Braddock? In his own words, he was born in in Manchester, England, had an 'unremarkable childhood', left school at sixteen to a series of dead-end jobs and found himself moving constantly sideways in terms of a career trajectory. Personal fulfilment, such as he found, was sought out in various degrees of hedonism but also, in writing and the pursuit of knowledge. Fortunately, it was the latter that eventually won out and has borne fruit in this, his first volume of poetry, which he describes as "the completion of a jigsaw, made up of answers found in libertarian/anarchic thought over years of 'pondering'."

During these pointless years, he started to write, especially at night when he could not sleep, which was frequently. It was the timbre of words/letters that hooked him: the internal rhythms, how it flowed and so forth. These were the years that hip-hop was fresh, so called 'punk' poets were hacking to bits his perceived stuffiness of their intellectual forefathers.

Sorry for the Silence is his visible answer to the problems of conscience. It is an urban answer and it is, along with his guilt, a driving force for the worthy idea of a better world. It is a collection of poetry that will be enjoyed by anyone who is not afraid to look at the world around them, acknowledge it qualities and its flaws, viewing both with a sense of equanimity until we can discern "the dichotomy of the human predicament: the relationship between what we want, what we need and the price paid for it."

Sorry for the Silence by Ian R. Braddock (ISBN: 978-1505377460) is available to buy online, in print and e-book editions. Further information is available from The Manuscript Publisher.