Ash Keys: New Selected Poems

by Michael Longley

Published to coincide with his 85th birthday, Ash Keys looks back on the extraordinary career of the last surviving member of the triumvirate of poets that rose out of 1960s Belfast

'A master in an old, great tradition' THE TIMES

'A keeper of the artistic estate, a custodian of griefs and wonders' SEAMUS HEANEY

The title of Michael Longley’s New Selected Poems is taken from his poem ‘Ash Keys’. The wing-shaped, wind-borne seeds of the ash-tree might be an image for poems in search of their readers. This selection, based on thirteen individual collections, represents Longley’s unusual range as a lyric poet.

It shows how his themes, genres and forms have evolved and interlaced since the 1960s. Love, violence, the natural world, art, psychodrama, family, the Great War, the Homeric past and Northern Ireland’s troubled present cohabit in these pages – as do depth, wit and beauty. Longley’s poems of the west of Ireland, which pivot on Carrigskeewaun, his ‘soul landscape’, have also made him a pioneer of ‘eco-poetry’.

In 2022 Longley was awarded the Feltrinelli Prize for poetry, a major international prize. Announcing the award, the Accademia dei Lincei in Rome stressed ‘the contemporary relevance of his themes and their cultural implications’, and ‘Longley is an extraordinary poet of landscape, particularly of the Irish West, which he observes with the delicate and passionate attention of an ecologist, and a tragic singer of Ireland and its dramatic history. But he has also addressed the seduction, conquest, and fascination of love, as well as the shock of war in all ages, the tragedy of the Holocaust and of the gulags, and the themes of loss, grief and pity.’

Genres: Poetry

187 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 25, 2024

About the author

Michael Longley was a Northern Irish poet. Following his death, the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, called Longley "a peerless poet".

Reviews

[Jane Fudger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael Longley is best known as a landscape poet - many of his poems reflect nature in all its forms. This collection. taking in poems from his various other collections, was published to coincide with his 85th birthday and shows the themes and forms of how his poetry has evolved since the 1960's Apart from nature there are also poems about greek mythology, war and the Northern Ireland troubles.
Longley is a lyrical poet portraying the fragility of the world and life's experiences. An outstanding read.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

The great Northern Irish poet, Michael Longley, died this past January, 2025. He was one of the "BELFAST POETS" who also included Derek Mahon, and Seamus Heaney, who rose to prominence in the late 60's- early 70's. Mahon passed away in 2020, and Heaney in 2013. This volume is an updated version of his selected poems, and includes poems from 1969-2022. This volume includes his nature poems, poems based on Greek classics, as we;; as poems about Belfast during the Troubles. The introduction is written by the poet Paul Muldoon.

[Malachy Moran · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is hard to find words to describe this book. It’s absolutely incredible. A fantastic collection from across the life of one of the 20th century best poets. The poems in this collection do not shout, they are self spoken, but powerful. I have never read anyone who describes nature in the same way as Michael Longley. Reading this collection changed me.

[Deena Redmond · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the first few collections of poems were great but as the poems went on they seemed to be poorly chosen, half of them were outstanding and the rest seemed strung together. I don’t know if that’s how his work progressed with time but it made the selection of poems feel divided and not well put together.

[T P Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sad to finish this so soon after his death. It's a masterful selection - poems dealing with nature, death, family relationships and the parallels between classical myth and the current era. The prevailing warmth and intelligence elevates all his writing. He'll be sorely missed.