"I love that these words are about The Self - But not self-indulgent. There's no ego here, just words - Take 'em or leave 'em. There's so much hate in this world any bit of loving's gotta be alright."

- Steve Ignorant

"In 'The Machinery of Life' Darren J Beaney returns to the territory of his pamphlet, 'Honey Dew': drawing on myth, literature, and his own experience he explores the subject that has occupied poets through time: the nature of love. This is, however, love as lived in the twenty-first century captured in poetry that is inventive, witty, and frequently surprising but never slushy or sentimental. This is true love as experienced by a man with middle age spread who cannot believe his luck and whose poems gives hope for us all."

- Nigel Kent

"Darren J Beaney is proof that there's always something new to say about love, in the right hands. In these refreshingly original poems, various and many aspects of love are touched upon, and whatever the subject - whether it's glamorous mythology or gluttonous middle-age spread - Beaney succeeds in not just finding the beauty within but in managing to clearly express an undeniable truth: that while love remains the most brittle thing, it's when our bodies start to break down that love, very often, proves itself to be stronger than ever before."

- Thomas McColl

"Darren J Beaney writes vibrant love poems that are beautifully sincere. They tackle an old theme with a modern, questing eye, capturing the shifting weather of the heart through exciting imagery, playful verbs and luminous small details."

- John McCullough