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Collected Poems
Collected Poems
Feb 25, 2026 10:25 AM

Author:Patrick Kavanagh,Antoinette Quinn

Collected Poems

The centenary of Patrick Kavanagh's birth in 2004 provides the ideal opportunity to reappraise one of modern Ireland's greatest poets. From a harsh, humble background that he himself described so brilliantly, Kavanagh burst through immense constraints to redefine Irish poetry - a poetry appropriate for a fully independent country, both politically and culturally. Moving beyond Irish verse's preoccupation with history, national politics and identity, he turned to the land and scenery of his native Inniskeen, portraying the closely-observed minutiae of everyday rural and urban life in an uninhibited, groundbreaking style. Lucid, various, direct and engaging, Kavanagh's poems have a unique place in the canon and a unique accessibility.

This major new edition is the culmination of many years of work by Antoinette Quinn in creating authoritative texts for Kavanagh's poetry - from his early works such as 'Inniskeen Road: July Evening' to his masterpiece, the epic 'The Great Hunger', allowing us to see the development of Kavanagh's genius as never before.

Reviews

"Wodehouse's idyllic world can never stale. He will continue to release future generations from captivity that may be more irksome than our own. He has made a world for us to live in and delight in."

—— EVELYN WAUGH

"He exhausts superlatives"

—— STEPHEN FRY

"Pure word music"

—— DOUGLAS ADAMS

"The Everyman edition promises to be a splendid celebration of the divine Plum"

—— THE INDEPENDENT

"The handsome bindings are only the cherry on top of what is already a cake without compare"

—— EVENING STANDARD

"A handsome, collectable hardback edition"

—— Lynne Truss , THE TIMES

In a literary world which is so often either relaxed into the flabby indifference of review-speak, or corseted into position with the strings and eyelets of critical jargon, James Wood's tone is invaluable

—— Robert MacFarlane , Times Literary Supplement

He is one of literature's true lovers, and his deeply felt, contentious essays are thrilling in their reach and moral seriousness

—— Susan Sontag

James Wood is an authentic literary critic, very rare in this bad time. One can dissent gently from his judgements but he is always urgent, lucid, and interesting

—— Harold Bloom

The mysteries are never tainted by explanation, merely beautifully described, delivering a hypnotic read

—— Times Higher Education Supplement

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—— Guardian

'Murakami's most addictive fix to date'

—— Independent

'Engrossing and wildly inventive'

—— Times Literary Supplement

Top marks. Fantastic

—— Heat

Lovely

—— Daily Telegraph

Moving and intelligent

—— Independent

Magnetic, unpretentious and bursting with one-liners

—— Cosmopolitan

Fans of chick-lit will understand when I say that this is a book you simply disappear into

—— Sunday Telegraph
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