The Ghost Orchid

by Michael Longley

Following the remarkable riches of Gorse Fires, the poems brought together under the title The Ghost Orchid share some of the same concerns, but take many different approaches. Whether in the west of Ireland, Sissinghurst or the stone gardens of Japan; whether confronting the blood of The Iliad or The Odyssey or undergoing “Ovidian metamorphoses;” whether testing poetic form or renewing Ulster Scots dialect, Longley speaks with pared delicacy, passion and vulnerability about love, life and death. A lyric craftsman of genius, Michael Longley has written a book that is fragile and exquisite—like the evanescent ghost orchid itself—yet full of tragic intensity; it is his finest achievement.

Genres: Poetry

75 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

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

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Longley’s sixth collection draws much of its imagery from nature and Greek and Roman classics. Seven poems incorporate quotations and free translations of the Iliad and Odyssey; elsewhere, he retells the story of Baucis and Philemon and other characters from Ovid. The Orient and the erotic are also major influences; references to Hokusai bookend poems about Chinese artefacts. Poppies link vignettes of the First and Second World Wars. Longley’s poetry is earthy in its emphasis on material objects and sex. Alliteration and slant rhymes are common techniques and the vocabulary is always precise. This was the third collection I’ve read by the late Belfast poet, and with its disparate topics it didn’t all cohere for me. My two favourite poems are naughty indeed (photos on blog!).

Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.

[Caspar "moved to storygraph" Bryant]

ML's most Ovidian collection (A Flowering!) so far as I know, he mostly works from Homer but he's Being Different here. Brilliant stuff and what a pair with Gorse Fires. He writes sexual encounters in a very acceptable way he has a humour about it that doesn't end up reducing the work to 'light verse' or something trivial. Look at something like Massive Lovers for this.

Also perhaps his most famous poem, Ceasefire in this one it's that. I kind of masochistically prefer The Helmet. im different

[Lanea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael Longley is an astoundingly talented poet, but also a very witty one. This collection includes several pieces that either translate or respond to Ancient Greek myth, as well as some lovely, clearly personal pieces.

[Mikael · Rating 1 out of 5]

how did it get here