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Lies
When does a poem tell the truth? When is it a lie? Intimate moments carefully re-appraised (first dates, break ups, young parenthood, etc.) are the raw material of these vivid and wholly engaging poems, written in Irish, and translated here by the author – a process that itself raises questions about poetry and truth. But a great deal of the power of Ní Ghríofa’s work comes from the way her personal history links her to the wider world – to the imaginative encounters that prompt so many of the poems, to an acute awareness of the restless nature of language itself, and not least to the women who preceded her and who remain a steadying and guiding presence throughout.
- GenresPoetryIrish Literature
83 pages, Paperback
Published November 1, 2018
About the author
Doireann Ní Ghríofa
21 books566 followersDoireann Ní Ghríofa is a bilingual writer, devoted to exploring how the past makes itself felt within the present. A Ghost in the Throat finds an 18th century poet haunting a young mother, leading her through visions of blood, milk, lust, and murder. Written on the roof of a multi-storey car park in Ireland, it went on to be described as “powerful” (New York Times), “captivatingly original” (The Guardian), and a “masterpiece” (Sunday Business Post). A Ghost in the Throat won the James Tait Black Prize and was voted overall Book of the Year at the Irish Book Awards, while the US edition was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and a New York Times Notable Book of 2021. It is to appear in 15 further languages worldwide.
Doireann is also the author of six critically-acclaimed books of poetry, each a deepening exploration of birth, death, desire, and domesticity. Awards for her writing include a Lannan Literary Fellowship (USA), the Ostana Prize (Italy), the James Tait Black Prize (Scotland), a Seamus Heaney Fellowship, and the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, among others.
Doireann is also the author of six critically-acclaimed books of poetry, each a deepening exploration of birth, death, desire, and domesticity. Awards for her writing include a Lannan Literary Fellowship (USA), the Ostana Prize (Italy), the James Tait Black Prize (Scotland), a Seamus Heaney Fellowship, and the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, among others.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
July 5, 2021
Gaeilge san Aistriúchán*
Review of the Dedalus Press paperback edition (2018)
I enjoyed Doireann Ní Ghríofa's memoir / obsession / translation A Ghost in the Throat (2020) so much that I sought out some of her own poetry as well. Ghost ... documents Ghríofa's family life in parallel with her obsession and research of the life of Eibhlín Dubh (c. 1743-c. 1800), the writer of Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire (The Keen for Art O'Leary) which laments her husband's murder. It has been described as the greatest poem written in either Ireland or Britain during the eighteenth century (1). Ghost... concludes with Ghríofa's own translation of the Keen face to face with its original Irish text.
Lies contains selections from Ghríofa's own three Irish language poetry works in their original words with her own English language translations. I suspect that the title Lies is a tongue-in-cheek way of saying that translations are never exact equivalents of their originals. There is always some lying and deceit required in the task. A translation has to possibly choose between several alternative words, seeking perhaps to preserve the rhyme or at least the metre in the final result.
Even with my total lack of Irish language knowledge, it was easy to see that the poems on the facing pages did not look equivalent. Often the number of words and lines were remarkably different, sometimes even a numeric figure* was changed for no apparent reason.
I especially enjoy bilingual translation editions because of the way they allow comparison between the texts. Even with a language that I don't know, I still attempt to 'read' the original to seek possible clues or familiarity. I have to say that there was very little I could find familiar in Irish. The most 'familiar' words looked to be modern constructions based on English words. Some such examples were Mhaighneidin for Magnet and Scoile for School.
I enjoyed the variety of themes in Lies and would certainly read more Ghríofa in the future.
* Irish in Translation.
** In one poem, the original Irish gives a digital clock time of [01:37] and the English translation is [01:38].
(1) Irish Classics (2000) by Declan Kiberd published by Granta Books.
Review of the Dedalus Press paperback edition (2018)
I enjoyed Doireann Ní Ghríofa's memoir / obsession / translation A Ghost in the Throat (2020) so much that I sought out some of her own poetry as well. Ghost ... documents Ghríofa's family life in parallel with her obsession and research of the life of Eibhlín Dubh (c. 1743-c. 1800), the writer of Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire (The Keen for Art O'Leary) which laments her husband's murder. It has been described as the greatest poem written in either Ireland or Britain during the eighteenth century (1). Ghost... concludes with Ghríofa's own translation of the Keen face to face with its original Irish text.
Lies contains selections from Ghríofa's own three Irish language poetry works in their original words with her own English language translations. I suspect that the title Lies is a tongue-in-cheek way of saying that translations are never exact equivalents of their originals. There is always some lying and deceit required in the task. A translation has to possibly choose between several alternative words, seeking perhaps to preserve the rhyme or at least the metre in the final result.
Even with my total lack of Irish language knowledge, it was easy to see that the poems on the facing pages did not look equivalent. Often the number of words and lines were remarkably different, sometimes even a numeric figure* was changed for no apparent reason.
I especially enjoy bilingual translation editions because of the way they allow comparison between the texts. Even with a language that I don't know, I still attempt to 'read' the original to seek possible clues or familiarity. I have to say that there was very little I could find familiar in Irish. The most 'familiar' words looked to be modern constructions based on English words. Some such examples were Mhaighneidin for Magnet and Scoile for School.
I enjoyed the variety of themes in Lies and would certainly read more Ghríofa in the future.
* Irish in Translation.
** In one poem, the original Irish gives a digital clock time of [01:37] and the English translation is [01:38].
(1) Irish Classics (2000) by Declan Kiberd published by Granta Books.
January 22, 2021
Ní Ghríofa, born in Galway, and raised in County Clare, is currently being touted for A Ghost In The Throat. This 2018 volume is her first that is bilingual Irish/English. It has been translated by the poet. Translation, particularly the question of translating poetry, is a debated topic. My knowledge of Irish is limited, despite four years of study. It is a difficult language. But my bit of Irish, and my training as a linguist make it possible to appreciate Ní Ghríofa's translation approach. At times, the English version is shorter. Verses may be longer in one language or the other, depending on the poem.
Many of Ní Ghríofa's poems describe the quotidian. She writes poems about tin foil, a dishwasher, and potatoes. Yet, there is beneath the surface, much more. A poem about tin foil appears to be a lyrical description of foil being released from its box, to expand into nature, flowing like a waterfall, then back to its box. This poem description can be read as the containment of human emotion, freed, and then brought under control again. The poems express deep themes of loss. The poet suffered the loss of a child, and is mother to four living children.
I encourage readers to pick up this collection. Don't ignore the Irish version of the poems at the risk of missing some of the delights of her work.
Many of Ní Ghríofa's poems describe the quotidian. She writes poems about tin foil, a dishwasher, and potatoes. Yet, there is beneath the surface, much more. A poem about tin foil appears to be a lyrical description of foil being released from its box, to expand into nature, flowing like a waterfall, then back to its box. This poem description can be read as the containment of human emotion, freed, and then brought under control again. The poems express deep themes of loss. The poet suffered the loss of a child, and is mother to four living children.
I encourage readers to pick up this collection. Don't ignore the Irish version of the poems at the risk of missing some of the delights of her work.
November 27, 2021
The most beautiful book I only understood half of. I think this is my favorite of her three poetry collections (the three I could read 😉). Effortless and enchanting, the poems switch from dishwashers to Vasco da Gama to tattoos to Newton's first law to tinfoil to Санкт-Петербург. Quotidian and worldly at the same time, it's magical.
Ar mo chroíse, is tusa an chréacht a d'fhill.
Ar mo chroíse, is tusa an chréacht a d'fhill.
February 23, 2019
“Don’t be afraid to tell the truth, even if it’s a lie.” Lucie Brock-Broido
What a wonderful collection of poetry.
I’m grateful to whoever convinced Ní Ghríofa to translate these, so that my mono-lingual self could benefit. “Cusp of Autumn,” “at a graveyard I imagine myself somewhere else,” and “In November” all made my heart soar.
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May 16, 2024I wish I could understand the Irish, but Ní Gríofa’s poems are brilliant and linger memorably in the English as well.
Most memorable are “Mash”, “Tattoo Removal”, “In November,”, and “Under Lock And Green”, which I read twice, once, each line, left to right, and then, as triplets within each stanza.
The titles of the poems often give no hint of the poet’s train of thought. Often, an ordinary task in Ní Gríofa’s hands, becomes magical, visceral, extraordinary. There’s always a logical path, and connection, but it’s an unexpected link, a surprise. I thought if Ní Gríofa were performing music, she might be Bjork.
From the blurbs on the book’s back cover:
“[Ní Gríofa] achieves the feat of making us look again at the usual and illuminating its pulsating strangeness”.
Most memorable are “Mash”, “Tattoo Removal”, “In November,”, and “Under Lock And Green”, which I read twice, once, each line, left to right, and then, as triplets within each stanza.
The titles of the poems often give no hint of the poet’s train of thought. Often, an ordinary task in Ní Gríofa’s hands, becomes magical, visceral, extraordinary. There’s always a logical path, and connection, but it’s an unexpected link, a surprise. I thought if Ní Gríofa were performing music, she might be Bjork.
From the blurbs on the book’s back cover:
“[Ní Gríofa] achieves the feat of making us look again at the usual and illuminating its pulsating strangeness”.
December 6, 2025
Great and deep poetry ✨✨✨
November 15, 2020
I enjoyed these poems, but more importantly, I feel as though I’ve learned a lot about myself and my own writing through reading them. There’s something really freeing about seeing a poet translate herself but make clear alterations for the translation. The poems are musical in each language, but it’s like they’re dancing to different tunes. There’s also a playful quality to the English translations that I wasn’t expecting. The poet uses rhyme in a skipping, tilting manner that reminds me how much of poetry writing is a game the poet plays with themself. I’ll be thinking about this book for a while.
January 16, 2024
Any poet who can make a meandering river of a roll of tinfoil must be read uninterrupted, cover to cover.
June 6, 2022
Favourites: Under Lock and Green & Solace
April 16, 2022
There is a lot of wonderful storytelling in the poems of Ní Ghríofa's bi-lingual collection (Irish/English). These are poems conscious of their singing, and nothing is too mundane or quotidian--be it a dishwasher, or knitting, or light reflected on a wall--to become a gateway to the imaginary, a vehicle for transport, the occasion for poetry to happen, for the speaker and the reader alike.
August 15, 2021
TWENTY-NINE OF Ní Ghríofa’s Irish poems, translated by herself. The poems have been selected from three different collections of her Irish poetry, and I wish someone had thought to add a note on which poems came from which collections, but oh, well.
Almost all of the poetry translated from Irish I have read was written centuries ago, so it is a bit of a kick just to see Irish language poems that mention selfies (féin-phic) or dishwashers (miasniteoir). But even the poems furnished with contemporary details tend to have lines with a whiff of the traditional about them, like “My shoulders were those of a stranger” (“Dos Conejos”) or this from “Cusp of Autumn”:
The beech tree watching from above
forgets herself and drops a handful
of leaves—golden, green—
sending them scattering into the stream.
Or “When I open / my mouth, my tongue flies away” from the opening poem, “First Date on Azul Street”.
How did the rest of that first date go, I wonder? That is actually the reason I wish I knew which poem came from which collection. Some hearken back to flaming youth (“rave,” “Tattoo Removal”), others speak of pregnancy and motherhood. I imagine Ní Ghríofa had these phases in the usual sequence, but who knows?
I recently picked up her prose book, A Ghost in the Throat, but I’m glad I read this first. Curious about her English language poetry, too—how different is it from her Irish-into-English poetry?
Almost all of the poetry translated from Irish I have read was written centuries ago, so it is a bit of a kick just to see Irish language poems that mention selfies (féin-phic) or dishwashers (miasniteoir). But even the poems furnished with contemporary details tend to have lines with a whiff of the traditional about them, like “My shoulders were those of a stranger” (“Dos Conejos”) or this from “Cusp of Autumn”:
The beech tree watching from above
forgets herself and drops a handful
of leaves—golden, green—
sending them scattering into the stream.
Or “When I open / my mouth, my tongue flies away” from the opening poem, “First Date on Azul Street”.
How did the rest of that first date go, I wonder? That is actually the reason I wish I knew which poem came from which collection. Some hearken back to flaming youth (“rave,” “Tattoo Removal”), others speak of pregnancy and motherhood. I imagine Ní Ghríofa had these phases in the usual sequence, but who knows?
I recently picked up her prose book, A Ghost in the Throat, but I’m glad I read this first. Curious about her English language poetry, too—how different is it from her Irish-into-English poetry?
December 31, 2024
I don't often mark poetry books as Read because I don't feel like I ever finish reading them. I'm sure I've read all the poems in this book before, but today I sat down and read them all, cover to cover, but back to front.
It's a gorgeous collection, poems in Irish with English translations by the author. My Irish isn't good enough to do more than pick out a few words here and there. But the English translations are worth the price of the book. Many of the poems are about motherhood-- some about the loss of a child-- and domesticity. They muse about explorers doing housework, pause while gathering washing from the clothesline to contemplate night and electricity, turning off the dishwasher in the middle of the night while thinking about nightclubs the speaker no longer goes to. My favorite poem in the collection is Tinfoil, which imagines rolling out sheets of aluminum foil down the stairs and through the house which turns into a river.
It's a gorgeous collection, poems in Irish with English translations by the author. My Irish isn't good enough to do more than pick out a few words here and there. But the English translations are worth the price of the book. Many of the poems are about motherhood-- some about the loss of a child-- and domesticity. They muse about explorers doing housework, pause while gathering washing from the clothesline to contemplate night and electricity, turning off the dishwasher in the middle of the night while thinking about nightclubs the speaker no longer goes to. My favorite poem in the collection is Tinfoil, which imagines rolling out sheets of aluminum foil down the stairs and through the house which turns into a river.
January 27, 2025
“No slender thread, / no telephone cord / binds us anymore.” Another book of poems from Doireann Ní Ghríofa, Lies presents a series of Irish language poems alongside their English renderings. Unable to read the Irish language, instead I am struck by the sheer rhythmic force of the English, the precision and emotional honesty of each line and cadence. Many of these poems feel rooted in an irrecoverable past, populated my memories, by turns clear and uncertain, as well as ghosts, the ruins of conversations, and the seismic force of grief. I especially loved ‘Call’, with its brisk take on modern relationships, the quiet beauty and subtle musicality of ‘Selfie with Lines’, and the half-aphoristic, half-elegiac ‘Under a Fridge Magnet, a Photo of Grandmother as a Schoolgirl,’. While I’m sad Doireann’s book A Ghost In The Throat has been delayed until August, I’m more certain than ever today that it will be well worth the wait!
December 22, 2021
Another lovely collection from Doireann Ni Ghriofa. My least favorite, but only by a hair (I just loved more poems in the other two). I'm (very slowly) learning Irish on Duolingo, so it was very cool to see the Irish translation of these poems. Loved "Homework" "Noctuary" "Cusp of Autumn" and "Under Lock and Green" (among many others, but those were my absolute faves).
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December 31, 2023I'm not sure I've understood every poem, but some made me smile and others were strong on my heart.
It is nice to have some vision of Ireland, I'm sure I've recognised Cork in some poems and it is heartwarming :)
It is nice to have some vision of Ireland, I'm sure I've recognised Cork in some poems and it is heartwarming :)
March 27, 2021
Liked it, but none stuck out to me. I imagine her in Irish really adds another level.
April 18, 2021
I love this writer so much, having come to her work last year through her book A Ghost in the Throat. Her poetry is incredible as well.
December 20, 2022
This is a beautiful collection, delicate and also quite blunt. I liked it very much. It talks about such different things. I even got emotional about tinfoil (I loved that poem!).
August 29, 2023
Poemas llenos de verdad, a pesar del título del libro. También una forma de conocer un idioma tan diferente como el gaélico, a través de la traducción al inglés de la propia escritora.
Es un inglés accesible para poder leer los poemas sin demasiada dificultad. No son complicados, van directos al tema: amor, desamor, crecimiento, soledad...
Es un inglés accesible para poder leer los poemas sin demasiada dificultad. No son complicados, van directos al tema: amor, desamor, crecimiento, soledad...
May 4, 2024
4 stars overall as a collection but here are my five star poems
Call,
Memory Lapse,
Counter Clockwise,
Swallows.
Call,
Memory Lapse,
Counter Clockwise,
Swallows.
December 28, 2025
I am staggering, and unwilling to let this treasure become part of a collection, where some, I shall dust it and stop my cleaning for an affectionate re-encounter.
February 28, 2026
Such a beautiful read. Doireann’s command of language is inspiring. I devoured every word.
January 9, 2023
mother
June 11, 2020
This was my first bilingual poetry book and I really enjoyed it. ‘Lies’ certainly raised questions about the nature of translation in poetry. I loved that the author wrote both versions, as in the translations into English were not by someone else. You can see how different the poem is in each language. Expressing the same images and feelings, yes. But the words used to do so are different. Translation, especially in this genre, is about so much more than the literal translation of words.
For Ní Ghríofa, the everyday can lead to reflections on deeper subjects. Her laundry is used to describe her sadness as her children leave to attend school. A heart left traced by a finger in a mirror is compared to the physical symptoms of scurvy; these remind her that some wounds never heal. Objects, like a brooch, are imbued with life.
These poems are emotive. There is sadness, heartbreak, a distinct nostalgia. ‘Under Lock and Green’ depicts a woman’s longing for times past. The woman’s realisation that her house would by now be derelict left my heart aching for her sorrow. The poems are also beautifully painted. The scenery in a favourite, ‘Cusp of Autumn’, shows her skill for imagery.
For Ní Ghríofa, the everyday can lead to reflections on deeper subjects. Her laundry is used to describe her sadness as her children leave to attend school. A heart left traced by a finger in a mirror is compared to the physical symptoms of scurvy; these remind her that some wounds never heal. Objects, like a brooch, are imbued with life.
These poems are emotive. There is sadness, heartbreak, a distinct nostalgia. ‘Under Lock and Green’ depicts a woman’s longing for times past. The woman’s realisation that her house would by now be derelict left my heart aching for her sorrow. The poems are also beautifully painted. The scenery in a favourite, ‘Cusp of Autumn’, shows her skill for imagery.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews