Selected Poems

by Seán Ó Ríordáin, Frank Sewell (Editor)

The first bilingual volume of poems by leading Irish twentieth-century poet Seán Ó Ríordáin

In the mid-twentieth century, a new generation of poets writing in Irish emerged, led by the young Seán Ó Ríordáin, among others. Ó Ríordáin’s work has stood the test of time well, and he continues to engage today’s Irish readers and writers. This well-rounded selection of poems brings most of Ó Ríordáin’s works to English-language readers for the first time. The poems appear in their original Irish alongside English translations by some of Ireland's leading poets. Also included for the first time in English is Ó Ríordáin’s essay What Is Poetry?, considered an extraordinary touchstone of critical insight for poets and literary commentators.

The volume reflects Ó Ríordáin’s seven main concerns: poetry and its place in the artist’s life; the plural self; the relationship between the individual and society; gender relations; the nature of animals; Ireland, its language and culture; and mortality.

Genres: Poetry, Ireland

288 pages, Hardcover

First published April 19, 2013

About the author

Seán Ó Ríordáin (1916–1977) was an Irish language poet during the twentieth century. He completed four volumes of poetry, the last—Tar Éis Mo Bháis—published posthumously. He also wrote powerful opinion pieces for the Irish Times during his later years.

Reviews

[David Butler · Rating 4 out of 5]

An outstanding bilingual introduction to the Gaelic poet, impressive in part due to the wide range of Irish poet-translators it draws on. It has to be said, I admire O'Riordain's freshness and originality of image more than the overall conceit of many of his poems, which can seem dated or forced.
Here's a single image from ‘An Peaca’ (The Sin), where he describes the sixpence of the moon (‘réal na gealaí’) on a cloudy night: ‘mar chomhfhuaim ag titim go ceolmmhar trí dhán’ – like assonance dropping musically through a poem...

[Joost Baars · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great poetry, great translations. And underrated gem, that's what this book is. It's recommended to learn at least a bit of Irish to appreciate the pronunciation of the poems' language, so you can appreciate the special rhytmic and melodic quality they have. But even if you don't, this is a great book. The essay in the back on poetry and prayer is an absolute classic, one of the most important poetical texts I've read in my life.

[Katherine Simmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd love to spend an evening with you,
a light air playing on your tongue
the abstention of saints in each sin with you,
a blasphemous prayer on your lips.

A wide selection of poetry from landscapeque to intimate. Will be reading this alot I suspect.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this collection of poems by Seán Ó Ríordáin, one of the best Irish language poets of the 20th century. It did my heart good to read the Irish poem as written as Gaeilge (in Irish) along side it's translation as Béarla (in English).

[Caitlin Buxbaum · Rating 3 out of 5]

I might need more time with this one, but I rated it lower because it was hard to understand a lot of the translations and it seems the poet was a bit sexist. But, there were some good lines, it was cool to see the Irish side by side, and it was a pretty book :)