Crash – Ian Gouge (published 11th June 2023)
What happens during the last thirty minutes of your life as you struggle to wake from sleep one final time?
Does the entirety of your life indeed ‘flash before your eyes’, or are there just a few random incidents and moments which insist on being replayed and resolved?
And when these too eventually begin to dissolve, what then…?
Attempting to explore a fresh and flexible poetic style, Crash was partly inspired by the work of T.S.Eliot and Samuel Beckett.
From the 2025 performance at the Louth Literary Festival:
“I was spellbound.”
“Ian’s solo performance holds his audience mesmerised with Crash, taking them on a meandering journey through a man’s jumble of memories, dreams and imaginings, which weave together into a life, while all the time there’s a remorseless count-down to the end of that life.”
“Crash is an infusion of complex reverberant images and allusions which keeps an audience engaged and alert.”
Crash was first performed by the author in its final form as a dramatic monologue at the Ripon Theatre Festival, 2023:
“Ian Gouge commanded the sell-out audience seated in the vault at the Ripon Festival with his performance of Crash. His highly original poem, with hints of Dylan Thomas and Milton, was more than a reading: Ian’s acting gave life to the stanzas and the spaces around them giving the audience value for money, plenty to talk about and most importantly, a good think.”
“I found ‘Crash’ to be a meticulously-crafted flow of images and ideas that was both absorbing and intriguing.”
“Crash is an intimate look into the end of a life fully lived. This poem is unsentimental but realistic in unpacking the thoughts which may seem significant in those final moments. The poet expresses insight into the reality of his life and provides the audience with much to consider.”
“Crash” – along with a companion piece, “Beyond the curtain” – is also included in a larger collection of poetic monologues, Bound.
Note: This version of Crash is a small format book: 15cm x 10 cm (6in x 4in) and just 48 pages
Coverstory Books - Ian Gouge, Publisher 
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