In an era marked by escalating ecological crises, the role of art and literature in shaping our collective response has never been more vital. Dublin-based poet SC Flynn’s debut collection, The Colour of Extinction, emerges as a striking testament to the power of poetry to reframe the climate conversation. Through vivid imagery that engages the senses and emotions, Flynn’s poems compel readers to envision the future in a spectrum of colors, not just shades of despair.
The collection’s initial poems paint a bleak picture, likening the future to a “black cup of loneliness” in a world ravaged by melting ice caps, disappearing bees, and searing temperatures. Yet Flynn’s poetic lens soon shifts, inviting readers to imagine alternative hues. In The Oxygen Makers, ancient stromatolite fossils whisper that “all we need is time” to develop sustainable solutions—an intriguing counterpoint to the collection’s darker visions.
Visceral Imagery Brings Urgency to Ecological Message
What sets Flynn’s poetry apart is its ability to catch the imagination off-guard through unexpected, visceral imagery. Trees “boiling with birds” and whales slapping the waves in “wet pleas” create harrowing yet gripping scenes that demand attention. As a review in The Guardian notes, “Flynn’s pen strikes the page like flint, stoking the fire of hope within.”
This intensity of language pulsates through the collection, evoking a tidal energy that mirrors the rhythms of the threatened ecosystems Flynn describes. In the breathless poem Salt Lake, the future’s flight turns from “straight and smooth” to a treacherous terrain where “trees are pale dry prisoners” reaching out in desperation. Flynn’s diction choices strike a delicate balance between lament and the possibility of renewal.
Urgent Yet Optimistic Tone Avoids Preachiness
Despite its prophetic qualities, The Colour of Extinction sidesteps the pitfall of sanctimonious preaching. The poems acknowledge the immense psychological barriers to reckoning with climate change, extending empathy to those grappling with ways to act today to influence an uncertain tomorrow. Occasionally the more romanticized phrasings can distract, but as a whole, the collection serves as a “heartfelt and harrowing wake-up call” anchored in the belief that activating the imagination is a crucial starting point.
Rekindling Hope Through the Power of Imagination
Beyond its innovative poetics, Flynn’s collection shines in its ultimate message of perseverance—the faith that even from ashes, seeds wait to “breathe again” and reclaim the sky. In guiding readers to envision regeneration, The Colour of Extinction affirms the vital role of imaginative literature in navigating the climate crisis. These poems encourage a broadened perspective, one where a spectrum of possibility can emerge from a seemingly colorless future.
There is a tidal energy to Flynn’s language, a pulse to each poem that pushes punctuation to its limits.
– Jade Cuttle, The Guardian
As environmental writer Robert MacFarlane has argued, we need “literature that prompts us to imagine alternative futures, and make them real by living them.” SC Flynn’s The Colour of Extinction answers that call with its moving exploration of how poetic language itself can rewire perceptions and seed visions of restoration in an age of calamity. In facing the darkness of ecological loss, these poems illuminate the transformative capacity of the imagination—and the hope that lies waiting beneath the ashes.
