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No Homeless Problem
- Narrated by: Shane G. Casey
- Length: 53 mins
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No Homeless Problem
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Summary
Having experienced alcoholism and homelessness, Séamus Fox came to understand the social and human injustices that result in so many people finding themselves living in the streets. This book is a collection of poems written from those stories, showing the reality of what it means to be homeless. They give an honest, disturbing ,and often enlightening view of homelessness, based on the experiences of 44 individuals.
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What listeners say about No Homeless Problem
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Séamus Fox
- 01-06-23
I am Séamus, author of No Homeless Problem
I am Séamus, author of No Homeless Problem and Other Poems.
When I wrote No Homeless Problem and other Poems one of my main aims was to look at the collective aspects of homelessness and many of the other difficulties which those who are homeless also suffer from. Addiction, mental and emotional problems, paranoia, anxiety, depression. I wanted to hold a mirror up to people and show them that none of these issues are individual issues, all of them are collective problems. If something is affecting millions of people then it is very obviously much bigger than any individuals isn't it?
Having the poems in the book all written by me from other peoples stories was my way of showing that this problem could affect anyone. It was my way of saying this is my voice and it is their voice, and it is our collective voice. People largely tend to blame others who are suffering as a result of homelessness but the over whelming truth is that homelessness and all of the issues I have listed above are actually not causes, they are symptoms. Symptoms of a broken society, symptoms of financial inequality.
How people behave is largely affected by what they have or haven't got, by where they're born and by how they were brought up. If we have a society where many children are not loved and properly cared for when they are babies then we should not be surprised by the terrible shapes people become in adulthood. And yet that is what is society is, it is perpetually surprised by itself. We are perpetually surprised by the blindingly obvious.
Having a different person narrating my book was something that happened by accident. I actually went in late 2019 to Bristol to record the voice over for this book but had the Terrible luck of my voice going that weekend. CO-VID then happened and it was left alone until my publisher recently got in touch to ask if I wanted to do the audiobook using another voice actor. I thought it was a great idea.
Having another person voicing it adds another dimensions to my underlying aims. So many people being affected by these issues that the voices themselves and indeed the faces become meaningless. The cover of the book depicts a homeless person with no face and this is again that same premise. The faces, the names, the towns and cities and places these things don't matter. Homelessness and the numerous social ills which follow it do not discriminate, they care who you are or where you come from and they take people from all creeds and backgrounds.
Last year we also lost Jonny Plumb to Cancer. Jon was my friend who did the cover artwork for No Homeless Problem. I miss him.
I am immensely proud of this book and of this audiobook. I really hope you enjoy it.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- chris slade
- 05-06-23
Can't sing the blues if you ain't paid your dues!
“You can’t sing the blues if you ain’t paid your dues”… In various forms these are words handed down through generations of writers, artists and musicians. Opinions strengthen through experience and ‘the blues’. “You had to be there” might be another way of putting it. It’s obvious that Seamus HAS been there. Seen it, done that - got the t-shirt - as well as the ‘scars’ to prove it! His skill with words allows us to witness (albeit - to us - second hand) the personal tragedy, harsh despair, angst, sometimes pathos, anxiety and depression of his homeless friends and erstwhile ‘neighbours’. Overall extremely moving - It leaves you with a sense that "something more must be done!" • Thanks Seamus.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- MRS MARIE RUTTERFORD
- 13-06-23
Skillful, insightful poetry, beautifully read
Having read the book many times, it was interesting to have the opportunity to listen to the poems instead. Whereas I might stop to reflect when reading, I just let the audible book run on. At first, I thought it needed more pauses, but I was wrong: the avalanche of remembrance and reflection became a powerful medium through which to try to comprehend homelessness. I was struck by the precarious nature of existence: how quickly lives had unravelled, relationships dissipated, and things we take for granted had simply disappeared. The narrator struck exactly the right tone as he detailed acts of kindness and cruelty, generosity, and thoughtlessness.
The writing is superb, seemingly effortless, but it hides the skill and empathy of the author, whose own experience makes him a unique and valuable mouthpiece. It made me wonder, why is there so little published of his work? He deserves to be heard.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- J
- 22-06-23
A collection of poems beautiful as it is harrowing
No Homeless Problem forces the listener to confront on a deep human level that which is quietly ignored by society. These stories in only a few sentences convey an extreme sadness. The poems show that no matter what we are all still people no matter our class, creed, colour or life circumstances.
We are taught as a society to disregard the homeless, we are taught that it is their fault, their choice to live on the streets. So, when you read poem after poem of the dehumanizing aspect of being ignored by every passerby. The danger posed by random attacks on the street and the outright euphoria a simple human-to-human conversation can give. You are firmly on the book’s side when skewers that viewpoint, simply asking. “Who would ever choose to live like this?”
This collection was spectacular and a defining shift in my personal viewpoints going forward.
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