Mary Kennelly’s first collection, Sunny Spells, Scattered Showers was published in 2004. Since then subsequent books have appeared from a number of Irish publishers. On the Wind and the Singing Tide is her first collection from Salmon Poetry, “one of the most consequential houses in the Irish literary world in the last half century” according…
Jiving With Wasps: New and Selected Poems, by Rita Ann Higgins (Bloodaxe Books, €16.95 / £9.95) Most people ignore most poetry because most poetry ignores most people”, the poet Adrian Mitchell famously pronounced. Rita Ann Higgins doesn’t fall into that category. As readable and accessible a poet as the late Paul Durcan, she could fairly…
Under the Blue Seraphim, by Deirdre Cartmill (Arlen House, €15.00 / £13.00) Under the Blue Seraphim, published by the excellent Arlen House, is Deirdre Cartmill’s fourth collection of poetry. At a time when the sea of faith appears to be going out, it is good to see a poet who affirms the light, especially…
Uncertain Passage, by Paddy Bushe (Dedalus Press, €12.50pb / €20 hb) Paddy Bushe’s latest book, Uncertain Passage, is a triumph. His poems, like the blackbird in his eponymous haiku, are “So ordinary / Yet still incomparably / The sweetest of all.” Like the goldfinch of another haiku, his wise words illuminate us. A poet…
Sudden Light, by Enda Wyley (Dedalus Press, €12.50 pb / €20 hb) Enda Wyley, recipient of the prestigious Lawrence O’Shaughnessy 2026 Poetry Prize in the US, has been described as a true poet whose poems are perpetually fresh, utterly scrutinised, marked by vigour and virtuosity, arriving on the page as accomplished things. Her new book,…
Unbridled Joy, by Joan McBreen (Salmon Poetry, €12.99) Joan McBreen’s first book of poems, The Wind Beyond The Wall, which was awarded the prestigious Nicholas Roerich poetry prize in the US, was published there and in Ireland in 1990 by the distinguished Story Line Press. Commentators noted that her poetry evokes a contemporary Ireland struggling…