Hiraeth

“Now, between pages and accessible to all who hold them, the ideas conveyed in Hiraeth take a form tethered to material, and in printed form they possess new magic, and conjure new possibilities as points of reference as we navigate barometric overwhelm. We are invited to share confrontation in a kind of communion that feels more timely now than it did when I first heard the verses float in the air on Pepper’s breath.

Here, in print, beautifully typeset and offered form, the words oscillate - occupying two possibilities at the same time. A kind of raging, a kind of quietude - and at the center is Pepper’s singular unforced voice that is personal, lyric, and universally true. 

It’s a fact that we could burn books and stories would die but the truths that they portray would always remain. Pepper knows that truth is bigger than books and bigger than breath. There is a sense, in the holding of Hiraeth, that the truth now stands a better chance even if singed at the edge.”

Andrew Shaw, May 2025
London, England