Hachette Ireland invited the poet to edit an anthology of Irish nature poems for illustration
You grew up on a farm in Roscommon and live in Glenmalure, one of the loveliest parts of Wicklow. How much did this inspire you to become a nature poet?
Hachette Ireland invited me to edit an anthology of Irish nature poems for illustration by Jane Carkill. For months I was steeped in nature poetry from Yeats to the present day and I could easily have chosen another 70 superb poems. It’s a beautiful book which I hope will bring pleasure to a broad audience, including those who don’t usually read poetry. It’s also a timely book, drawing our attention of the wonders of the natural world around us at this moment of environmental crisis.
I love the sound of the word and it expresses the essence of the anthology as an unexpected and generous gift of nature.I am honoured and absolutely delighted to be on these shortlists. I felt happy with the collection myself but there is no knowing how it will be received in the wider world. I’m deeply grateful for the affirmation and for how it is taking my work to a much wider audience.
The dignified words on their headstone in Glasnevin Cemetery made me think of all the subtle and not so subtle ways my wife and I and our many lesbian and gay friends had to censor our love in the Ireland of the ‘80s and ‘90s. How much more courage it must have taken to live with your same-sex lover earlier in the century.
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