The Dead Are Always Laughing at Us is Dominic Hoey at full voltage: funny, tender, furious, and absolutely committed to being understood. Written largely through lockdown, these poems track poverty and hustle, dead-end work, bad advice, good hugs, grief that keeps changing shape, and the strange, bright shock of falling in love while the world feels like it is coming apart. Hoey’s voice is plainspoken but razor-sharp, flipping from gut-punch confession to stand-up timing in a heartbeat. There are love poems that feel like survival tactics, elegies for a best friend that refuse sentimentality, and political truths delivered with the kind of clarity that does not ask permission. Designed with a bold visual element by Trudi Hewitt, each poem is given its own space, pace, and pressure, making this a collection you do not just read, you move through.
 
ABOUT Dominic Hoey & Trudi Hewitt:
Dominic Hoey is a poet, author, youth worker, and small dog owner from Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa. He’s released three best selling novels and written a million love poems. Through his Learn To Write Good program, Dominic has taught thousands of students how to think dyslexic. His third  novel, 1985 was released by Penguin books in May and has received rave reviews. He dreams of one day starting an animal rescue farm.
 
Trudi Hewitt is a Melbourne-based brand and book designer with a love of typography, and breaking the rules just enough to make things interesting. When she’s not moving pixels at her agency job, she’s probably patting her cat or exploring new ways to create thoughtful, unexpected design.