SUNY Oswego student Horane Daley recently released his second book, “The Boy That Wrote Love,” a collection of poems that explore love, heartbreak, healing and self-love.
Speaking on the book's development, the junior psychology major from the Bronx articulated just how much the book has evolved since its inception.
“This book had a lot of faces, I would say,” Daley explained. “It’s changed so many times. The first draft of it only had 30 pages, and now it’s at 160. I’ve rewritten it so many times.”
While his first book, “To the Clothesline,” only took him six months to complete, this one took him a year and a half. This extra time and effort was due to Daley’s own sense of progression, both as a person and as a writer.
After the release of the first book, he realized his writing had already evolved beyond his previous work. Daley attributes this evolution to his poetry coursework and expanding literary knowledge, which have allowed him to develop his language and bring together more diverse concepts into his work.
As for the content within the book, Daley details the journey beginning with his first loves such as his family, friends and TV shows, before it then transitions to him experiencing romantic love for the first time and the heartbreak that eventually followed.
Daley stated that his failures in love were the experience he needed to be able to write the book. “I’ve failed at loving, all those failures turned into lessons that I explore in this book,” Daley said. He hopes that those who have experienced any kind of heartbreak or struggle to feel a sense of self-love will be able to pick up the book and feel both heard and seen.
“I put it in this book for you to read, for you to enjoy, and for you to just use as your inspiration for being better, and for loving better,” he emphasized.
Strong support
Speaking about the inspiration for being able to finish the book, Daley cited the support of his readers as a major push that got him to the finish line.
“Even before the first book came out I had people coming up to me asking me where the book was and that motivated me to get the first book out,” he said. “Then when the first book came out, multiple people came to me asking me where my next book was. That’s motivation enough.”
Not only does Daley take in general encouragement from his audience but he also embraces any type of interpretation that they can extract from his work. “I don’t have a specific meaning when I put down the words,” Daley said. “Everybody can be right, everybody has a correct answer.”
This literary malleability is what helps Daley to be so captivated by poetry, as it allows for endless possibilities in discussion to be had. That doesn’t mean he’s not willing to explore other writing forms, as he recently started to get into fiction writing. While still getting his feet wet in this area, the narrative possibilities excite him and he hopes to maybe even branch out to nonfiction for an autobiography.
Daley then went on to express the influence other media has on his writing, particularly with anime and the show “One Piece.”
“That’s been my favorite anime since like 10 or 11,” Daley recalled. “So I’ve basically grown up with the story. It’s a very large place in my heart and in my writing.”
In a way, Daley hopes that his work will be able to have the same impact on those who read it as “One Piece” and other shows have had on him – a place of escapism that still allows for mutual emotional connections.
“Life is crazy and the only way I can explain the craziness, the only way I can cope with it is by writing,” Daley said. “It’s been so helpful for my life and me becoming a better me and reaching that next stage of who I want to become.”
He also wanted to highlight that there are some fun Easter eggs contained within the book. One example is a poem where the reader can insert their own title. He hopes they will attempt to find them all. (Hint: There are some towards the end.)
Daley’s book is available now and can be purchased online via Amazon.
–- Written by Bryce Levac of the Class of 2023