Tagged: “The Sun-fish”
Poem of the Week: “Curtain” by Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin
I laid myself down and slept on the map of Europe,
It creaked and pulled all night and when I rose
In a wide hall to the light of a thundery afternoon
The dreams had bent my body and fused my bones
And a note buzzed over and again and tuned for the night.
Poem of the Week: “Calendar Custom” from The Sun-fish
Calendar Custom What is the right name of that small red flower? It’s everywhere, spilling down over the stones In the sun, every year at just this time. The colour dims for a minute as the line of dust Follows the loud white van uphill, and just now The girls in the bar offer me…
Continue ReadingPoem of the Week: “The Door” by Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin
The Door When the door opened the lively conversation Beyond it paused very briefly and then pushed on; There were sounds of departure, a railway station, Everyone talking with such hurried animation The voices could hardly be told apart until one Rang in a sudden silence: ‘The word when, that’s where you start’– Then they…
Continue Reading‘Tis the season for poetry readings
Everyone knows that poetry is best when listened to, so kick back, relax and belatedly celebrate National Poetry Day with some readings from our poets. Ciaran Carson reading “Snow” from Belfast Confetti Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin reads from The Sun-Fish Paula Meehan reads her poem “Death of a Field” from Painting Rain Michael Longley reads “Harmonica” from his Collected Poems Vona…
Continue ReadingA Lil Bit of Lit Crit: “The Copious Dark” by Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin
In his November 2010 review of Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin’s The Sun-fish, William Logan of The New Criterion commented that “Ní Chuilleanáin loves this stillness, the timelessness of Ireland both passing and passed—stately, measured, the poems unfold in their own time, making very little concession to the reader. They’re full of material things, things with density…
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