Echoes of Memory

by John O'Donohue

spirituality by irish poet and ex-clergyman.

Genres: Poetry, Spirituality, Nonfiction, Philosophy

140 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

John O'Donohue, Ph.D., was born in County Clare in 1956. He spoke Irish as his native language and lived in a remote cottage in the west of Ireland until his untimely death in January 2008. A highly respected poet and philosopher, he lectured throughout Europe and America and wrote a number of popular books, including Anam Cara and To Bless the Space Between Us.

Reviews

[John]

A book of lovely poems. You can almost hear his Irish accent. The poem "Beannacht" alone is worth reading this collection. It means "blessing" in Gallic. Here is the poem:

Beannacht by John O'Donohue

On the day when
The weight deadens
On your shoulders
And you stumble,
May the clay dance
To balance you.

And when your eyes
Freeze behind
The grey window
And the ghost of loss
Gets into you,
May a flock of colours,
Indigo, red, green
And azure blue,
Come to awaken in you
A meadow of delight.

When the canvas frays
In the currach of thought
And a stain of ocean
Blackens beneath you,
May there come across the waters
A path of yellow moonlight
To bring you safely home.

May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
May the clarity of light be yours,
May the fluency of the ocean be yours,
May the protection of the ancestors be yours.

And so may a slow
Wind work these words
Of love around you,
An invisible cloak
To mind your life.

Copy and paste this into a browser to hear him recite it.

https://onbeing.org/blog/john-odonohu...

[Justin Wiggins]

I finished this amazing book by the great Irish poet at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland.

[Dale Harcombe]

Four and a half stars. Love the cover of this book. It sets the tone for the gently lyrical poetry within filled with images that feed the heart and the mind. My one regret is I had not read any of this poet's work earlier but I will be looking out for more of his to read. As for this book it will be one that I know I will come back to time and time again. I enjoyed the poems but did prefer his free verse to the rhyming poems but all are worth reading. In poetry workshops I remember a well know Aussie poet suggesting not to use too many genitive phrases, eg 'glaze of pools,' 'smother of bog,' just to name two. This poet uses them freely and yet somehow it never bothered me. Maybe because they were so visual.

[Sofia Zapatero]

I am grateful to have read this in the place it was written

[Darcy]

I love how in John O'Donohues work the 'self' and nature are so inextricably linked, so beautiful 💙

"Something startled clay alive inside you
to show how roots squeeze earth to hold trees down,
how the water dreams to assemble a stream, how layers of air breathe off crests of wave and a skin of green holds a mountain in."

[David]

Enjoyable...somewhere between 3-4 stars for me. Not as engaging as I expected, and he muddles around a bit in this text in ways that I don't think would be clear to everyone. Loved how he tied so many different ideas together...I feel like this book was seeping through the cracks while he was writing other pieces.

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Page 48
Page 164
Page 196

[Haines Eason]

Perhaps the poem "Expectation" is this collection's most complete poem. O'Donohue is at his best when he is at a remove--observing, longing. Scenes and landscapes remembered from a distance seem to give him the space he needs to see a whole poem through.

[Amanda]

As always, John O’donohue’s poems are spiritual and uplifting: “I think of you, the torture of the last year, the trembling, no sleep, the change in life turning your soul into a refugee, with tears I take the nail of pain away and promise my shoulder beneath your cross.”

[Denise Hatcher]

This book is divided into four sections: Air Holds Echo, Hungers of Distance, Clay Holds Memory, and Icons of Live. The ninety-three pages held many rich symbols. Poems such as this author’s can be a fun way to read and reflect.

[Daniel Glover]

Read Echoes of Memory after reading John O’Donohue introduction to Celtic Spirituality in his book Anam Cara last fall. I found myself rereading each poem multiple times to truly appreciate O’Donohue’s dense and rich language, emotion and thought.

[Dee]

A most beautiful poetry book in looks and kind - it sings to my Celtic soul. I love this book - one of my all time favourites.

[Arya Shahi]

"Conamara in Our Mind" and "The Grief of Love" are tremendous.

[Amy]

I love this man’s heart and soul. I’ll read anything he wrote, including his dissertation on Hegel in German. Just need to get my hands on it.

[writer...]

Echoes of Memory ~
Irish philosopher, John O’Donohue’s first published book was one of poetry. Artistic word crafting seems to be his forte with this work being a beautiful introduction. Ninety one entries divided into four sections, each beginning with an introductory quote of another writer. Gaelic and English flow seamlessly in O’Donohue’s writing, sometimes interpreted, other times not. Descriptive depths of his familiarity with Ireland’s Conamara countryside, Celtic spirituality, tiding sea, cottage firesides, relationships, all creatively expressed through O’Donohue’s perspectives.

This volume contains the well known ‘Beannacht’ dedicated simply ‘for Josie, my mother’

“...May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
may the clarity of light be yours,
may the fluency of the ocean be yours,
...And so may a slow
wind work these words
of love around you,
an invisible cloak
to mind your life.”
For your enjoyment, a beautiful recitation of this poetic blessing, enhanced with the lovely Irish accents of the author himself, is available on youtube.

[Miriam Walker]

Echoes of Memory is a powerfully evocative collection from John O'Donohue, author of the beautiful Anam Cara, and master poet and philosopher who sadly passed away on January 4, 2008 at age 52. This collection is exquisitely balanced between the themes of landscape, the mystery of being, death, grief, love, seasons and the forces of nature. The poems are in four sections: Air Holds Echo, Hungers of Distance, Clay Holds Memory and Icons of Love. The words engage with such potency that you are taken to another level of reading, a mysterious and rewarding one that is not necessary to categorize...

"Somewhere inside
the wings of the heart
make their own skies."

[Mary Drover]

I will never not be saddened by the fact that I’m never going to get to read John O'Donohue’s work for the first time. I only have a few books left to read by him, one of the greatest philosophers and poets I have ever had the pleasure to experience. He is one of a kind, and I am very lucky to have been effected by his words. He has helped me understand a lot about myself, and this book was no exception.

[Gloria]

Very Irish/Celtic in tone, this was John O'Donohue's first published work. It is a tad on the dark side with frequent mention of death. O'Donohue is a spiritual guide and poet, but suspect his later works are more apt to please readers.

[Christina M.]

O'Donohue writes work that resonates on a very personal level for me.

[Dani]

Earthly, heavenly, chilly, deathly, poignant and correct. Another perfect Irish poet, amongst the stars.

[Angad Manku]

Beautiful book!