The Book of Irish Verse: Irish Poetry From the Sixth Century to the Present

by John Montague (Editor)

This rich and unusual anthology includes lesser known poets as well as recognized masters to trace the origins and development of a distinctive poetry tradition. The poems reflect on everything from unrequited love to the political hardships and triumphs of the Irish people.

Genres: Poetry, Irish Literature, Ireland, Classics, Anthologies

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

About the author

John Patrick Montague, BA, MA, MFA, DLitt

American-born Irish poet, writer of short fiction, essayist, and professor. Graduate of University College Dublin and the University of Iowa.

Awarded honourary doctorates by the State University of New York at Buffalo, the University of Ulster, and University College Dublin. Recipient of the American Ireland Fund Literary Award, the Irish-American Cultural Institute’s Award for Literature, a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, and Australia's Vincent Buckley Poetry Prize.

He was appointed the first occupant of the Ireland Chair of Poetry. A native of Brooklyn, New York, he became Distinguished Writer-in-Residence for the New York State Writers' Institute and Professor of Poetry and Writer-in-Residence at State University of New York at Albany. He also taught at University College Cork, Queen’s University in Belfast, Trinity College Dublin, and his alma mater University College Dublin.

In addition to receiving honourary doctorates in the United States and Ireland, France invested him a Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur.

Reviews

[Sarah Brannen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've never been big on poetry and this one was a little hard to grasp some of the poems due to age and language translation - still loved it, though. I'd love to have a copy!

[Doug · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat out of date and I'm not sure an editor would make the same selections among modern poems, but still a nice representative sample. The conflicting views on Irish violence in the revolution and the civil war was a theme running through the collection.

[Pamela Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

In reading this book, a few pages over lunch each day....I appreciated the timeless experience of being human. Laughter, joy, love, non sensical-ness, power, ruthless control, revenge, war, suffering, misery, patriotism and more....so much more

[Philip Coulter · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are definitely better anthologies for twentieth century Irish poetry, although it is perhaps cool to get Montague's choices, which definitely differed from others.

The older poetry was interesting, but some could perhaps have had a little more context.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm drawn to books of Irish poetry for the old poems, the ones from the Dark Ages. I like their romanticism, but also their fierceness. From "Love" (trans. John Montague) comes "My love is no short year's sentence./It is a grief lodged under the skin." Or from "The Vikings," (also version by Montague)"Bitter the wind tonight,/combing the sea's hair white."

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Montague is a wonderful poet, and his editing and introduction for this book are very well done. He offers a not only a good review of differing scholarship about Irish poetry over the centuries, but he offers his own opinions and criticism. This book is a great introduction to the varying yet contained world of Irish Verse. But at the same time, this book is a something that needs sitting with.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not much of a poem kind of person, but I did find a few poems that definitely caught my eye. A lot of poets to go through during a large time period, but some of the earlier ones and some of the early 20th century ones were very good, along with the very famous writers such as Yeats, Swift and Joyce.