[oliver murray]

Nothing to apologise for, Katy, and I hope you didn't think I was attacking you, and, as I say, without reading the poems in question, mine is only a partial opinion, based on the examples given. If the rural labourer was a myth to be exploded (and Synge himself admitted there was a whole world of clericalism, class-distinction and gombeenism he didn't and daren't write of, concentrating on Aran Islanders and Wicklow tinkers instead) this exploding has been well and truly done by now and Kavanangh, fine poet though he was at his best, was by no means the only one who did it.

Regards,

Oliver.

[J.A. Crider]

I don’t know Montague beyond random pieces in anthologies, but this one has stuck to my ribs: an "old fogey" anthem with one of the most arresting closures of the century—right up there with Rilke’s “you must change your life.”

Dowager

I dwell in this leaky Western castle.
American matrons weave across the carpet,
Sorefooted as camels, and less useful.

Smooth Ionic columns hold up a roof.
A chandelier shines on a foxhound’s coat:
The grandson of a grandmother I reared.

In the old days I read or embroidered,
But now it is enough to see the sky change,
Clouds extend or smother a mountain’s shape.

Wet afternoons I ride in the Rolls;
Windshield wipers flail helpless against the rain:
I thrash through pools like smashing panes of glass.

And the light afterwards! Hedges steam,
I ride through a damp tunnel of sweetness,
The bonnet strewn with bridal hawthorn

From which a silver lady leaps, always young.
Alone, I hum with satisfaction in the sun,
An old bitch, with a warm mouthful of game.


[This message has been edited by J.A. Crider (edited February 03, 2005).]

[oliver murray]

Thanks for posting this, John. An excellent example of a "persona" poem. I would love to know, if it ever existed, where this "Western castle" was as very few Irish stately homes, if any, were stately enough to have tourists traipsing through them.

[Tim Murphy]

What a beautiful poem, John.

[Peter Waring]

AGENDA magazine's triple Irish issue
Volume 40 Nos 1-3 has a large supplement
celebrating Montague's 75th birthday. He
sent his contributions in bundles from
the South of France. I heard him once
described, with affection, as 'that old
gypsy' by a poet from the next generation.
His scope is very broad, from epics like
'The Rough Field' to intimate love lyrics.
His essays are worth looking out for. He
has met, and talked to and had a drink
with, and taught and encouraged, so many
good writers. And he is still, I hope,
going strong.

PJJW

[Peter Waring]

Sorry.The above post duplicated itself.

PJJW

[This message has been edited by Peter Waring (edited January 31, 2005).]

[A. E. Stallings]

Featured today on Poetry Daily, afterwards in the archives:
www.poems.com

[Janet Kenny]

Thank you Alicia. Beautiful! "Scribe in the woods" knocks me out.
Janet

[Petre Andonov]

never read John Montague before, but "the trout" is quite impressive.