Long out of print, these collected poems reflect the career of one of the best Irish poets of the 20th century, as important as Patrick Kavanagh, Thomas Kinsella, or Seamus Heaney. His work is distinguished by the influence of Gaelic poetry and was important in drawing the public's attention to the Irish modernists. This collection was compiled in 1974—the year of Clarke's death—and has been updated with a new introduction and expanded notes.
Austin Clarke (Irish: Aibhistín Ó Cléirigh[1]) (9 May 1896 – 19 March 1974), born in 83 Manor Street, Stoneybatter, Dublin, was one of the leading Irish poets of the generation after W. B. Yeats. He also wrote plays, novels and memoirs. Clarke's main contribution to Irish poetry was the rigour with which he used technical means borrowed from classical Irish language poetry when writing in English.