Vinegar Hill

by Colm Tóibín

From the New York Times best-selling author of Brooklyn, Colm Tóibín’s first collection of poetry explores sexuality, religion, and belonging through a modern lens.

Fans of Colm Tóibín’s novels, including The Magician, The Master, and Nora Webster, will relish the opportunity to re-encounter Tóibín in verse. Vinegar Hill explores the liminal space between private experiences and public events as Tóibín examines a wide range of subjects—politics, queer love, reflections on literary and artistic greats, living through COVID, and facing mortality. The poems reflect a life well-traveled and well-lived; from growing up in the town of Enniscorthy, wandering the streets of Dublin, and crossing the bridges of Venice to visiting the White House, readers will travel through familiar locations and new destinations through Tóibín’s unique lens.

Within this rich collection of poems written over the course of several decades, shot through with keen observation, emotion, and humor, Tóibín offers us lines and verses to provoke, ponder, and cherish.

Genres: Poetry, LGBT, Irish Literature, Ireland, Nonfiction, Audiobook

141 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 31, 2022

About the author

Colm Tóibín FRSL, is an Irish novelist, short story writer, essayist, playwright, journalist, critic, and poet. Tóibín is currently Irene and Sidney B. Silverman Professor of the Humanities at Columbia University in Manhattan and succeeded Martin Amis as professor of creative writing at the University of Manchester.

Reviews

[Lorna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vinegar Hill: Poems by Colm Toibin was a beautiful book that I had a lovely review, actually one of my better ones and as I was admiring it, Goodreads sucked it up as it is wont to do. The tragedy here is that the book was taken back by the library today. So, I will attempt to resurrect it as I am able. I would not be going through this agony if I did not love this book by Colm Toibin. This was his debut in poetry, and as one of the most beloved Irish authors, it was an amazing and beautiful book.

One of my favorite parts of the book was Toibin's reminiscing of his family home was the view of Vinegar Hill as his mother took art classes to capture the essence of what enthralled them on a daily basis.

"We can see the hill from our house ,
It is solid rock in the mornings
As the sun appears from just behind it,
It changes as the day does.

My mother is taking art classes
And, my thinking it natural to make
The hill her focal point,
Is trying to paint it.

What colour is Vinegar Hill?
How does it rise above the town?
It is humped as much as round.
There is no point in invoking
History. The hill is above all that,
Intractable, unknowable, serene.
It is in shade, then in light,
And often caught between.

When the blue becomes grey
And fades more, the green glistens,
And then not so much. The rock also
Glints in the afternoon light.

That dwindles, making the glint disappear,
Then there is the small matter of clouds
That make tracks over the hill in a smoke
Of white as though instructed.

This was a beautiful book of poetry where Colm Toibin poured out his heart in his beautiful verse. While I don't have the wherewithal to judge this beautiful book except that I loved it.

"Yates had the sharp eye of a painter. And, strangely, Liked the talk of Oxford and the English poets. I could not, of course, tell him about my efforts, The Poems I wrote. I would like to say that he saw in me What others missed. And for one second he almost did. If only he had stopped talking and paid more attention! But the moment passed. They gossip too much, all of them here. If Apollo came to Dublin, he would grow garrulous too. And join their tedious disputes on the merits of Home Rule.

I loved this book from beginning to end as Colm Toibin let us get a glimpse into his beautiful heart as he shared his beautiful verse, much of it in Ireland but we also had delightful glimpses to his times in Dublin to Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. to the White House to San Clemente and to the iconic Eccles Street. But my favorite poem that I love and will read again and again is his Prayer to St. Agnes.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t realize when I started it that this was Tóibín’s debut collection; so confident is his verse that I assumed he’s been publishing poetry for decades. He’s one of those polymaths who’s written in many genres – contemporary fiction, literary criticism, travel memoir, historical fiction – and impresses in all. There’s such a range of tone, structures and topics here. Bereavements and chemotherapy are part of a relatable current events background, as in “Lines Written After the Second Moderna Vaccine at Dodgers’ Stadium Los Angeles, 27 February 2021.” Irish-Catholic nostalgia animates the very witty sequence from “The Nun” to “Vatican II.” You can come along on some armchair travels: “In Washington DC,” “In San Clemente,” “Canal Water” (Venice), “Jericho,” and so on. The poems are based around anecdotes or painterly observations; there are both short phrases and prose paragraphs. The line breaks are unfailingly fascinating (any other enjambment geeks out there?). I particularly loved “Kennedy in Wexford,” “In the White House,” “Eccles Street” and “Eve.”

Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.

[Andrew H · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cider vinegar?
Malt vinegar?
Balsamic vinegar?
Rice vinegar?
Red wine vinegar?
A lot of description without much emotional shaping, a volume that offers "No adjunct to the Muses’ diadem."

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tóibín is known as a novelist and essayist. He wrote poems as a teenager, but left that behind for novels. In the past few years, he had cancer, and of course the pandemic forced many people to stay at home. These events gave him the impetus and space to look to poetry, and this volume is the result.

The collection is uneven. Some of the poems were very appealing to me, while others didn't really seem to be poems. But of course such a gifted writer produces a work that despite being uneven, is worth reading.

[LeeAnna Weaver · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely collection of poems that transported me back in time to Ireland, to Italy, and to present day America. He is as deft with poetry as he is with prose. The attractive book jacket is a copy of his mother’s paintings of Vinegar Hill, a touchstone of Toibin’s past. From the title poem:
“There is no point in invoking
History. The hill is above all that,
Intractable, unknowable, serene.”

[T P Kennedy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Much as I love most of his writing, I didn't enjoy this collection. It's more a compendium of thoughts, reflections and impressions of passing moments. Some of these would have worked very well as prose passages. I didn't find the poetic form in this book. Light and not very memorable.

[✨Y a n a✨ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Im unsure as to why I thought I would enjoy this book

[Dmitry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Прославленный ирландский романист Колм Тойбин издал свою первую книгу стихов разных лет. Честно признаюсь, сколь бы я ни любил большинство его романов, поэзия мне не зашла. Vinegar Hill (2022) – это такой сборник мыслей, рефлексий и впечатлений о мимолётных моментах, типа Гаспаровских «Записей», которые отлично смотрелись бы как прозаические отрывки внутри большой формы. Темы, которые волнуют тут Колбина: Ирландия и Дублин, Америка и Венеция, ковид и меняющийся мир, пропадающие общественные пространства – в том числе гейские, о чем в поэме Dublin: Saturday, 23 May, 2015.

‘I would like us to visit,’
One said, ‘some of the places
That are gone now, the ones
We remember, the gay spots
That have fallen off the map.
And no one will remember soon.’

И совершенно очаровательна миниатюра о пузырьках шампанского на венгерском члене.

[éabha ✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

“O holy St Agnes, cure me of metaphor!/ Make me say exactly what I mean.”
colm tóibín is such a beautiful writer who manages to capture the most mundane encounters in the most stunning light, especially those concerned with Ireland and Catholicism. i loved all of these poems but my favourites upon my first read are “The Nun”, “Kennedy in Wexford”, “Vatican II”, “Dublin: Saturday, 23 May, 2015”, “December”, “Prayer to St Agnes”, and “Because the Night”.
love love love colm tóibín.
i’ve been seeing reviews that his work can be abundant in description & lacking emotional depth or shape as a result , but in my opinion these vivid descriptions of places & memories are full of emotion, and this is what is most appealing about tóibín’s work. it is also worth taking into consideration that he is a novelist before he is a poet, and this is his first poetry collection. All the more impressive!

[Tameri Bushra · Rating 3 out of 5]

a distinct lack of imagery makes the collection feel pretty lifeless, and i’m still trying to decide whether that’s intentional. the author continually name drops streets and cities without actually describing them or any emotions associated with them. its use of language (i use that term loosely) is very different from what one would expect from poetry, so i guess that makes it original; however, for me it was pretty tough to get through. there’s some good ideas there, but i felt that they would be better suited for essays or short stories.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moving Poems

A nice book of poetry looking at his past and present. Some look at the places around his home and town, others look at American politics. All are very moving. My favorite is about missing classic cinemas in his town. I’m a movie lover too.

[Claire Silverman · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the most part I liked this collection, there were a couple poems I really liked (In San Clemente was my fav!)

I do think many of the poems read more like short stories rather than poems, which is understandable from Tóibín since he is mostly a prose writer.

The poems I tabbed:

September
Mysterium Lunae
Thunder All Night
Morning
Dublin: Saturday, 23 May, 2015
Gellert Baths, Spring 1990
Variations on a Theme by Maeve Binchy
Late
In San Clemente
Eccles Street
Jericho
Valentin’s Prayer

[Esra · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5-4*

[Laura McNeal · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you reach a certain level of fame, you can publish anything.

[Michael Loveabudge · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been living with this pretty closely for about a month now. It's good but still hasn't justified my huge excitement for it. Though I admire its quiet, reserve and transparency, qualities Toibin gets from Bishop among others, I find some of it a bit prosaic, which I don't find Bishop. I like most the showier, riskier poems like Mysterium Lunae. It's the kind of collection that I might grow to like much more, and if there is ever a second then I will definitely read that too. Love this man!

[Christine Doiron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poetry is one of those things I keep trying to get into, but struggle with. I've also long been intending to read something by Colm Toibin. When I found out that at 67 this prolific writer had finally turned his hand to poetry, I decided it might be just the opportunity to read a little poetry and experience a new-to-me author.

Vinegar Hill was actually a lovely experience. My gripe with poetry, often, is that I read a poem and I straight up just don't understand it. I don't think I should have to read something several times in order to grasp its basic meaning. I understood most of the poems in this book. A few were beyond my grasp, but many of these poems tell a clear and beautiful story.

Themes include travel, sexuality, religion, aging, death. If you're interested in those things told in a more straightforward manner than many modern poets manage, this one might be a good fit for you.

[Marguerite Hargreaves · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection was somewhat hit-or-miss for me. I really liked several of the poems. Others didn't speak to me. A few felt dated, but Colm Toibin's works here span decades. The subject matter is diverse: Covid, geography, art and artists, politics, travel, religious figures, closeted and uncloseted gay life, the natural world. Toibin writes with longing, fury and sly humor.

What resonated:

"Prose, of the time before the bang, the gorgeous vacancy, the pre-astral soup, gravity dancing like a herring on the griddle-oh, and the sly almostness of atoms and particles."

"So there was really nothing to worry about, nothing to suggest disaster, except the waves themselves, the swell that is unnatural even at the best of times, all highs and lows, untrustworthy even when calm, just undulating willfulness, no conscience, no regrets."

"And as the day wore on, the unspeaking shadows came, bringing in their wake ambiguous claims on the softening air."

"I have left it out: the beauty of slight things gathered and cast off."

"And outside, the light of day holding firm against change at least for the moment as the church has done for much of its history."

"The art he favors has a hint of risk, a naked bottom, some Cubist forms."

"At gay events now the guys were young, anyone middle-aged had retreated as though in shame to the suburbs."

"Soon, Twitter, fake news and rage itself will be all the rage, and children will be held in cages. And dreams will be tossed and blown. ... It is sobering to remember we were not laughing anymore."

"But, in the end, I bewildered God more than all creation. We spoke, but he was never a good listener. Preferring the sound of his own voice even when he whispered."

[Bonnie G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5? I don't know, I am just not made for poetry, I think. I love Toibin's fiction, so when this landed in my lap, I figured, why not? There were elements of this collection of short poems I liked. As usual, Toibin seems to find the perfect word for each moment, a single word that sets a mood or a scene when there are a dozen other words, some individually lovelier, that would have done, but which would have changed so much. And I also liked (I am not sure if this is the right way to describe this) the casualness of the exposition. Nothing seems precious; things seem like anecdotes, almost accidentally poetic. There were a few poems that moved me, "The Nun", "From the Catalan" and "Open House", in particular, spring to mind. Arafat in Tunis and Jericho were evocative and surprising. But I was not transported. I suspect I am the problem.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never been a reader of poetry, in fact, I don't remember studying poetry in HS English. We read novels, short stories, plays but I don't recall poetry; I only took a year of English in college, writing the first semester and drama the second semester. And that was that. I have read Tolbin novels and found them engaging and a short story or two in The New Yorker. I saw this in the new releases section at the library and checked it out and also downloaded the audio version. So I read and listened to the poems over the course of a few nights. The audio version was read by the author. I have never felt about poems this way in my life, so I wonder what changed? I plan to purchase a copy for my library

[John Sinclair · Rating 4 out of 5]

BOOK REVIEW ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Admittedly I don’t read a lot of poetry. I did in my twenties but that was a while ago. So I’m not ready to present a poetry critique here. I love Colm Tóibín’s fiction a lot, so I grabbed a copy of his latest: a slim book of poetry, which I found to be varied and engaging. A pleasant change, really.
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2022 📚 23

[Alistair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Toibin’s first collection of poetry is a bit of a curate’s egg. I thought some of the pieces excellent; some, especially the early ones I found somewhat opaque - meaningful to the author no doubt but leaving this Reader unengaged. This is a solid book of poetry coming in at 143 pages. It would have helped to have dates attached; have they been arranged, or simply chronological in order of writing? I liked many of the later poems (in terms of pagination), particularly Vatican 11; In the White House; Eccles St; Dublin: Saturday, 23 May, 2015.

[Rosemary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will read this delightful collection of poems again and again! Thoughtful, tragic, historical, amusing, sad, funny; observations of life, places and people. From the pandemic to the moon, summertime and memories, nuns, and nuns driving! Family, America, stars and water and prayers…just the right words. This is a collection to have and to hold forever, with a smile and a tear.

[Mary Wherry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two hour audiobook. The Kindle version didn't show Poems in the title so I was ssurprised as I started listening.
A print copy would have been very different from the audiobook. It seemed like many random thoughts and reflections. I most enjoyed the one about being at the White House with President Obama.

[Tom Walsh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve enjoyed a number of Toibin’s Novels but many of these poems didn’t really engage me.

The ones that described his life in Dublin captured the moment as well as those speaking of his feelings toward his parents. Others seemed like thoughts scribbled quickly into a pocket recorder for later reflection. Except he never went back to reflect on them.

Three stars for the successful ones. ***

[Bernie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of poems hit all over the board for me. Some were boring, some were plain difficult to read, but several stood out (such as” Open House” and “Because the Night”) in my memory. Definitely something worth giving a try if you’ve enjoyed previous works.

[Kelly Blomme · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading poetry is new to me. I read this in starts and stops. I really liked it. It reads as short periods of time. This is the second sort of book like this that I have read. I like poetry like this. They are like little vignettes. Relaxing.

[Evelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixture of pandemic musings, and remembrances of things past including long lost family, friends and loves, homes and public places in the United States and Ireland comprise this mixed bag of poetry. Some poems are good while others are bad.

[Sunny Stier-Wood · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to read something Irish after the queen died LOL but for all his accolades, I was disappointed. it seemed like a lot of pretty words to mask a lack of truly profound observations. and I don't read poetry just for pretty words, y'know?

[Philip Coulter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A generous 4/5. There was a real sense of connection to place - San Francisco, Dublin, Venice. I thought the lighter verse probably worked best - Vatican II, about nuns driving is probably the one that will stick with me.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

One of my favorite novelists, but too many of these poems read like short fictions. I did enjoy many of the images and locales, and four of the poems lingered.

Two Plus One. Eccles Street. Eve. Because The Night.