Irish poetry : politics, history, negotiation : the evolving debate, 1969 to the present

Author(s)

• Matthews, Steven

Bibliographic Information

Irish poetry : politics, history, negotiation : the evolving debate, 1969 to the present

Steven Matthews

St. Martin's Press , Macmillan Press, 1997

• : us
• : uk : hbk
• : uk : pbk

Note

Includes bibliographical references (p. 239-244) and index

Description and Table of Contents

Volume

: uk : hbk ISBN 9780333643358

Description

The award of the 1995 Nobel Prize for Literature to Seamus Heaney recognized not only the aesthetic achievement of his work, but also its political urgency. Here Steven Matthews presents a genealogy of Irish poetry which centres upon Heaney's recent preoccupation with the relations between poetry, politics and history. Writing from the perspective of Irish critical responses to the poetry, he discusses a wide range of work from John Hewitt through Heaney himself to Paul Muldoon. All of these poets have been inspired directly or indirectly by the situation in the North of Ireland. Placing the poems in their historical context, the author also analyses how these poets have reacted to the influence of W.B. Yeats. This important book offers a new approach to Irish poetry, linking it for the first time to the crucial political and historical events which lie at its centre.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements - Introduction: Making History? - John Hewitt: An Honest Ulsterman's 'Poemosaics' - Thomas Kinsella's Poetic of Unease - A Failure to Return: John Montague's The Rough Field - History is Only Part of It: Brendan Kennelly's Cromwell - 'Reconciliation under Duress': The Architecture of Seamus Heaney's Recent Poetry - Letters from the Alphabet: Carson's and Muldoon's Contingent Poetics

Volume

: uk : pbk ISBN 9780333643365

Description

The award of the 1995 Nobel Prize for Literature to Seamus Heaney recognized not only the aesthetic achievement of his work, but also its political urgency. Here Steven Matthews presents a genealogy of Irish poetry which centres upon Heaney's recent preoccupation with the relations between poetry, politics and history. Writing from the perspective of Irish critical responses to the poetry, he discusses a wide range of work from John Hewitt through Heaney himself to Paul Muldoon. All of these poets have been inspired directly or indirectly by the situation in the North of Ireland. Placing the poems in their historical context, the author also analyses how these poets have reacted to the influence of W.B. Yeats. This important book offers a new approach to Irish poetry, linking it for the first time to the crucial political and historical events which lie at its centre.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements - Introduction: Making History? - John Hewitt: An Honest Ulsterman's 'Poemosaics' - Thomas Kinsella's Poetic of Unease - A Failure to Return: John Montague's The Rough Field - History is Only Part of It: Brendan Kennelly's Cromwell - 'Reconciliation under Duress': The Architecture of Seamus Heaney's Recent Poetry - Letters from the Alphabet: Carson's and Muldoon's Contingent Poetics - Select Bibliography - Notes - Index

by "Nielsen BookData"

• NCID: BA29681082
• ISBN:
  • 031216436X
  • 0333643356
  • 0333643364
• LCCN: 96009649
• Country Code: us
• Title Language Code: eng
• Text Language Code: eng
• Place of Publication: New York,London
• Pages/Volumes: viii, 249 p.
• Size: 23 cm
• Classification:
  • LCC : PR8781.P64
  • DC20 : 821/.914099416
• Subject Headings:
  • LCSH : Political poetry, English -- Northern Ireland -- History and criticism
  • LCSH : Politics and literature -- Northern Ireland -- History -- 20th century
  • LCSH : Literature and history -- Northern Ireland -- History -- 20th century
  • LCSH : English poetry -- Northern Ireland -- History and criticism
  • LCSH : English poetry -- Irish authors -- History and criticism
  • LCSH : English poetry -- 20th century -- History and criticism
  • LCSH : Northern Ireland -- Intellectual life -- 20th century
  • LCSH : Northern Ireland -- In literature