Poems 1980-2015
Poems 1980-2015
by Michael O'Loughlin
Poems 1980–2015 brings together and celebrates a poetic career spanning nearly four decades, and includes new, previously unpublished poems.
Michael O’Loughlin has earned an enduring reputation as one of Ireland’s most important poets and writers. Poems 1980–2015 brings together and celebrates a poetic career spanning nearly four decades, and includes new, previously unpublished poems. Exploring major themes such as identity, language, exile and return, O’Loughlin’s work has an exceptionally strong international outlook and a fierce dedication to social and historical justice. From the youthful poetry of his early Raven Arts collections which ushered in a new urban aesthetic in Irish poetry, to the poetic explorations of European history and identity, and the mature reflections of a masterful poet, this volume finally reveals the true extent of his unique and superbly crafted oeuvre, the work of one of the most original and vital voices in contemporary poetry.
C-Format Paperback | 250pp | ISBN 9781848405431 | Release Date February 2016
Reviews
“Something new is happening here and knows that it is happening. O’Loughlin manages to ride the surge of discourses and histories in order to arrive in the free literate domain of the achieved poem.”
“The poet Michael O’Loughlin is a citizen of the world, and only incidentally an Irishman. Since returning from his European exile he has re-entered Irish life with a cold eye, if a warm heart...Poems 1980-2015 may be a report on history from the outside world, but it is also a private diary of inner Irish feelings that have an intense air of personal performance...These poems from three and a half decades constitute European poetry in the mask of English, and they are a unique addition to the Capital of Letters.”
“O’Loughlin reveals a tenderness that tempers his engagements with history at the same time as it enhances his portrayals of the mundane.”
“Michael O’Loughlin has been a hidden voice in Irish writing; his exile in Europe has given him dark insights into our own exile in Ireland. His poetic tone is sure and clear, and certain poems in this book – ‘Latin As A Foreign Language’, for example, or ‘To A Child In The Womb’ – are real masterpieces.’ - Colm Tóibín ‘A writer of intense power [with] poems of force, strength and surge.”
