Irish Love Poems

by A. Norman Jeffares (Editor)

From the erotic love songs of anonymous Celts and the works of early Christians to the ballads passed down through Irish tradition, this anthology gathers together an impressive variety of mediations on love. Modern poets such as Nobel Prize winners W.B. Yeats and Seamus Heaney are represented as are the younger generation of emerging Irish poets.

Genres: Poetry, Romance, Ireland

194 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1997

About the author

Alexander Norman "Derry" Jeffares was an Irish literary scholar.

Reviews

[Kayley Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Love is a thing that’s gathered, chance by chance, Out of life’s ever-changing random dance.” - Alfred Allen

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like many anthologies, this one was a bit uneven. Some poems were delightful, lyrical, and mesmerizing. Others fell flat. But it made me want to turn on Irish music and pull out all my Irish fiction, so overall, I'll call it a win.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an incredible compilation of Ireland's Love Poems. The introduction gave a brief history of Ireland's poems in terms of poets, influences and styles. However, in the compilation there was no distinction. There would be lovely ballads and sweet songs then there'd be one also filled with tender words but talking about a motor bike. Personally, I would have loved dates by each poem so as to get a feel for the time when they were written. (A few of the older ones had times such as "probably the tenth century"). Also the styles were all mixed. There would be funny ones, some written as "lessons" while a couple were straight up dark. Then back to a beautiful epic poem. Still, I enjoyed it. It is a beautiful collection.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The poets were mostly men.

[Michael Medlen · Rating 2 out of 5]

interesting collection of Irish poetry....

[Lacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful poems...makes me want to go back to Ireland.