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The Faber Book of Irish Verse
'Gaelic is my national language but it is not my mother tongue.' These words of W.B. Yeats serve as an epigraph to John Montague's perceptive and stimulating introduction to his anthology.
'I have tried,' he says, 'to create an anthology which leads up to the present, with the Irish tradition as it has been glimpsed by English-speaking writers.' His choice ranges from the sixth century, using many new or unfamiliar translations to suggest the variety of the Gaelic. In the eighteenth century the two languages cross, with Swift and Goldsmith beside the Gaelic satirists. His selection from the nineteenth century is particularly interesting, framed between songs translated from the Irish, and the newer Anglo-Irish street ballads. The anthology falls naturally into two halves, with the second half devoted to the astonishing poetic flowering that has taken place in the twentieth century. His editorial skills have done justice to a great literature, particularly those parts of it which have been neglected or misunderstood, and provides the reader with a view of contemporary Irish writing which is complete and balanced.
'I have tried,' he says, 'to create an anthology which leads up to the present, with the Irish tradition as it has been glimpsed by English-speaking writers.' His choice ranges from the sixth century, using many new or unfamiliar translations to suggest the variety of the Gaelic. In the eighteenth century the two languages cross, with Swift and Goldsmith beside the Gaelic satirists. His selection from the nineteenth century is particularly interesting, framed between songs translated from the Irish, and the newer Anglo-Irish street ballads. The anthology falls naturally into two halves, with the second half devoted to the astonishing poetic flowering that has taken place in the twentieth century. His editorial skills have done justice to a great literature, particularly those parts of it which have been neglected or misunderstood, and provides the reader with a view of contemporary Irish writing which is complete and balanced.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1974
9 people are currently reading
108 people want to read
About the author
John Montague
120 books20 followersJohn Patrick Montague, BA, MA, MFA, DLitt
American-born Irish poet, writer of short fiction, essayist, and professor. Graduate of University College Dublin and the University of Iowa.
Awarded honourary doctorates by the State University of New York at Buffalo, the University of Ulster, and University College Dublin. Recipient of the American Ireland Fund Literary Award, the Irish-American Cultural Institute’s Award for Literature, a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, and Australia's Vincent Buckley Poetry Prize.
He was appointed the first occupant of the Ireland Chair of Poetry. A native of Brooklyn, New York, he became Distinguished Writer-in-Residence for the New York State Writers' Institute and Professor of Poetry and Writer-in-Residence at State University of New York at Albany. He also taught at University College Cork, Queen’s University in Belfast, Trinity College Dublin, and his alma mater University College Dublin.
In addition to receiving honourary doctorates in the United States and Ireland, France invested him a Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur.
American-born Irish poet, writer of short fiction, essayist, and professor. Graduate of University College Dublin and the University of Iowa.
Awarded honourary doctorates by the State University of New York at Buffalo, the University of Ulster, and University College Dublin. Recipient of the American Ireland Fund Literary Award, the Irish-American Cultural Institute’s Award for Literature, a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, and Australia's Vincent Buckley Poetry Prize.
He was appointed the first occupant of the Ireland Chair of Poetry. A native of Brooklyn, New York, he became Distinguished Writer-in-Residence for the New York State Writers' Institute and Professor of Poetry and Writer-in-Residence at State University of New York at Albany. He also taught at University College Cork, Queen’s University in Belfast, Trinity College Dublin, and his alma mater University College Dublin.
In addition to receiving honourary doctorates in the United States and Ireland, France invested him a Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 6, 2017
I've never been big on poetry and this one was a little hard to grasp some of the poems due to age and language translation - still loved it, though. I'd love to have a copy!
December 21, 2016
Somewhat out of date and I'm not sure an editor would make the same selections among modern poems, but still a nice representative sample. The conflicting views on Irish violence in the revolution and the civil war was a theme running through the collection.
September 24, 2024
In reading this book, a few pages over lunch each day....I appreciated the timeless experience of being human. Laughter, joy, love, non sensical-ness, power, ruthless control, revenge, war, suffering, misery, patriotism and more....so much more
July 12, 2025
There are definitely better anthologies for twentieth century Irish poetry, although it is perhaps cool to get Montague's choices, which definitely differed from others.
The older poetry was interesting, but some could perhaps have had a little more context.
The older poetry was interesting, but some could perhaps have had a little more context.
April 16, 2008
I'm drawn to books of Irish poetry for the old poems, the ones from the Dark Ages. I like their romanticism, but also their fierceness. From "Love" (trans. John Montague) comes "My love is no short year's sentence./It is a grief lodged under the skin." Or from "The Vikings," (also version by Montague)"Bitter the wind tonight,/combing the sea's hair white."
April 29, 2011
Montague is a wonderful poet, and his editing and introduction for this book are very well done. He offers a not only a good review of differing scholarship about Irish poetry over the centuries, but he offers his own opinions and criticism. This book is a great introduction to the varying yet contained world of Irish Verse. But at the same time, this book is a something that needs sitting with.
September 1, 2011
I'm not much of a poem kind of person, but I did find a few poems that definitely caught my eye. A lot of poets to go through during a large time period, but some of the earlier ones and some of the early 20th century ones were very good, along with the very famous writers such as Yeats, Swift and Joyce.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews