Late Poems

Overview

The five most recent volumes of poetry published by Thomas Kinsella’s own Peppercanister Press—Marginal Economy, Man of War, Belief and Unbelief, Fat Master, and Love Joy Peace—are gathered together in this collection of the Irish luminary’s late work. Each volume is a coherent whole but also constitutes a section of the ongoing project of his writing, and together the sections explore the great themes of the spirit, the body, and the body politic. The poems themselves—and sometimes even their syntax—remain open-ended and susceptible to new experience, opening up a new world of possibility to readers time after time. This collection offers a unique opportunity to become acquainted with the work of a writer at the heart of modern Irish poetry who is an heir of the tradition bestowed by W. B. Yeats, Ezra Pound, and W. H. Auden.

Reviews

"Thomas Kinsella is the most important and the most compendious Irish poet since Yeats." —Thomas H. Jackson, author, The Early Poetry of Ezra Pound

Author Biography

Thomas Kinsella is the author of more than 30 collections of poetry as well as of The Dual Tradition, a critical essay on poetry and politics in Ireland. He is the editor of The New Oxford Book of Irish Verse and has furthermore translated extensively from Irish to English, including a translation of the epic The Tain. His awards and distinctions include Guggenheim fellowships, the Denis Devlin Memorial Award for Poetry, and the Freedom of the City of Dublin.