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A review by seanius
The New Oxford Book of Irish Verse by
4.0
Almost 1,500 years of poetry presented in one all-English language text. There is an interesting progression from pagan to Christian Ireland, and then a kind of wistful yet proud response to the English colonization. The original texts were in Irish, English and even Norman French, so it is quite a range. Around the 19th century section, the progression drifts inevitably towards nationalism, not unlike most European countries of that era. There is however a small representation of the loyalist population. The modern poems are more individualistic and denser in perspective and expression - reflecting the maturity of the nation from violent, bigoted Catholic independence to a more self confident and international voice.
Some of the choices of text are rather curious: Merriman acquires not less than 27 pages whilst better poets like Years, Beckett and Heaney have a handful: perhaps they are already too well-represented elsewhere. On the plus side, for Beckett fans there is an alternative translation of I would like my love to die...
Some further additions would be welcome: if they are still known, more pre-Christian poems. Also whilst they are rare in historical Ireland, some female poets would be welcome to see (perhaps some of the anonymous authors were women, but from the themes of self-immolating widows, it seems unlikely, considering any Irish women I have known...).
A strange exclusion is Eavan Boland: surely a poet better than Merriman. She was born a little late for Kinsella (he chose to halt around the year 1941, when Yeats died: selecting poets born then, as though Yeat's poetic spirit were reincarnated...). Boland was born in 1944: a gap of three years seems insignificant when spanning almost 1,500.
In any selection, omissions are always a challenge, and attempting to cover such a time period involving multiple cultures, inevitably leads to exclusions. So, despite these shortcomings I will certainly be reading this text again in years to come. It would be nice however to have a revised edition - besides Boland, there are always new poets being born...
As an Irish immigrant I found it especially poignant, the themes of loss of the pagan and then the Gaelic culture, echoing the losses and sacrifices of leaving the motherland behind...
Some of the choices of text are rather curious: Merriman acquires not less than 27 pages whilst better poets like Years, Beckett and Heaney have a handful: perhaps they are already too well-represented elsewhere. On the plus side, for Beckett fans there is an alternative translation of I would like my love to die...
Some further additions would be welcome: if they are still known, more pre-Christian poems. Also whilst they are rare in historical Ireland, some female poets would be welcome to see (perhaps some of the anonymous authors were women, but from the themes of self-immolating widows, it seems unlikely, considering any Irish women I have known...).
A strange exclusion is Eavan Boland: surely a poet better than Merriman. She was born a little late for Kinsella (he chose to halt around the year 1941, when Yeats died: selecting poets born then, as though Yeat's poetic spirit were reincarnated...). Boland was born in 1944: a gap of three years seems insignificant when spanning almost 1,500.
In any selection, omissions are always a challenge, and attempting to cover such a time period involving multiple cultures, inevitably leads to exclusions. So, despite these shortcomings I will certainly be reading this text again in years to come. It would be nice however to have a revised edition - besides Boland, there are always new poets being born...
As an Irish immigrant I found it especially poignant, the themes of loss of the pagan and then the Gaelic culture, echoing the losses and sacrifices of leaving the motherland behind...