Forgotten Beauty: Irish Love Poetry Across the Centuries - Hardcover

Lalor, Brian

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0717157792 ISBN 13: 9780717157792

Publisher: Gill & MacMillan, 2014

Synopsis

Forgotten Beauty is an anthology of Irish poetry from earliest times to the present day, accompanied by Irish paintings of distinction. Ireland has a claim to possess the longest continuous literary tradition in Europe. The earliest poem in this book dates from the seventh century, the most recent from the early twenty-first. From poetry composed by anonymous monks in early Christian monasteries through to the modern masters, the tradition of Irish verse has sustained and renewed itself in every generation. Forgotten Beauty presents in gift book form poetry chosen with care and affection. It focuses on the better-known and most popular poems of the major writers, but every reader will also find hidden delights and surprises. It spans the full range of Ireland's poetic achievement in both languages - although the Irish-language poems are given in translation. The poetry is complemented by appropriate paintings from the Irish fine art tradition, one that is often unfairly relegated to a minor place in critical judgements. The excellence of the poetry in this book speaks for itself. The paintings, many by contemporary artists, are, however, an integral part of Forgotten Beauty, and demonstrate that there is another Irish artistic tradition which, although not as celebrated as its poetry, can claim excellence in its own right.

About this title

About the Author:

Writer and artist Brian Lalor headed a team of nine hundred contributors as General Editor of The Encyclopaedia of Ireland (2003), which won the Association of American University Presses award for best reference work in the humanities, and the American Library Association listing as best single volume work of reference. He is the author of books on architecture, travel and autobiography, many of which he has illustrated. Some of his more recent publications include a study of medieval architecture, The Irish Round Tower (1999), a fully illustrated edition of Oscar Wilde's The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1997), and The Laugh of Lost Men, an Irish Journey (1997). In 2004 he won the International Swift Society Award for Juvenalian satire. Ink- Stained Hands (2011) is a pioneering study of Irish twentieth-century printmaking. As a fine-art printmaker, his work has been exhibited internationally, and he lectures on the history of printmaking. In a previous incarnation he worked as a specialist in classical archaeology, and made important contributions to the archaeology of Jerusalem. He lives in West Cork.

About this edition

• Publisher: Gill & MacMillan
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0717157792
• ISBN 13: 9780717157792
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 191