Selected Poems

by John M. Hewitt

Edited, with a new introduction, by acclaimed poets Michael Longley and Frank Ormsby, Selected Poems is testament to Hewitt's remarkable literary legacy, and a celebration of a unique, compelling and still urgent voice in Irish poetry.

Genres: Poetry

176 pages, Paperback

First published August 15, 2007

Reviews

[Peter McClung · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Irish poet (planter self-described) that deserves to be better known, beautiful descriptions of Ulster, particularly the glens, its nature and its people . Substance and shadow as well as Ulster names are two to get a feel for his style.

[David Campton · Rating 5 out of 5]

As far as I can see this is the only collection of Hewitt's prodigious output still in print, but it is a superb one, drawn together by two local poets inspired by him. If truth be told there are more poems per page in this collection that resonate with me than any other anthology of a single poet's work, including (heresy alert) Heaney. Part of that is background and political outlook, part of it about emotional tone. He was at home in different poetic forms and geographical and social settings: an urban Planter poet who sought solace among rural Gaelic culture; an enforced exile and perceptive commentator on the sectarian storm that was to engulf his native city and province. It's a shame it has taken me this long in life to take a deep dive into his work, but I shall return.

[Sarah Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really lovely collection of Hewitt's best work

[Ellie Rose McKee]

I spent more than a year dipping in and out of this book. Some great poems but, sadly, too many went a bit over my head. (The fault of my head, not the poetry, you understand.)

[Malvina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this selection of poetry from John Hewitt. He has an artist's eye for the unusual, a knowledge that the Irish countryside brings forth lush treasures but he still doesn't 'belong' there (being a city boy), and he has a poignant turn of phrase whether composing about politics, Irish life, or family. Some of the more memorable poems for me were The Owl, The Green Shoot, An Irishman in Coventry, The Search, Neither an Elegy nor a Manifesto ("Bear in mind these dead..."), and I Lie Alone. This is a slim volume to keep coming back to.

This simple four-line poem gives a wonderful example of his mastery with words:

GREY AND WHITE
Grey sea, grey sky
two things are bright;
the gull-white foam,
the gull, foam-white.