A Lil’ Bit of Lit Crit: “Wake Forest Series of Irish Poetry”

Our latest project at the Press has been drafting permissions letters for our upcoming anthology. The Wake Forest Series of Irish Poetry, Volume III features the works of five Irish poets and will come out early next year.  This week we will be contacting the publishers of these poets’ various works and requesting their permission to use selected poems in our anthology.

As we begin our work on Volume III, we reflect on Volume II through recently published reviews. The current issue of the New Hibernia Review features a review of our last anthology by Ray McManus. In this review, McManus describes each of the poets’ style of writing and some themes touched upon. He writes, “Taken as a whole, the collection encompasses the range and scope of Irish poetry in a limited volume.” Each of these authors has a distinctive voice and discusses various topics, contributing to a unique, non-thematic collection of poetry. McManus notes the distinction of these poets in Ireland and recognizes the importance of spreading their presence to North Americans who are yet unaware of their skill. In conclusion, “[Jefferson Holdridge’s] strategic selections … encourage readers to … find new relationships to the familiar and universal, and engage with these poets in the compulsive, innate cycle of ingestion, incubation, identification, and regurgitation that is personal and intimate.”