Filed under Poetry …

A Centenary for The Bad Boy of Welsh Literature

A Centenary for The Bad Boy of Welsh Literature

Thomas’s best-loved work is his play for voices, Under Milk Wood. A late work, it perhaps belongs in the category described by George Orwell as ‘a good bad book’ with its mixture of vulgarity and sentimentality. The prayer of Revered Eli Jenkins is an example of how the most famous of Anglo-Welsh poets inspires both love and embarrassment in Wales. Continue reading →

Poetry by Michael Boyle

Poetry by Michael Boyle

Sanctuary My mother called it Grand Central Station. Our kitchen the main platform and when we were tall enough we could glance out the half door. When clangorous clouds clashed we dived under tables. Plugged ears when pigs squealed on death row. But always ate salty bacon well into spring. We learned that slow churning … Continue reading →

Poetry

Poetry

The Country Shop to the memory of Mullarkey’s shop, Listrisnane, Bohola, Co. Mayo Sorrow is where a unit of shop, house and home have shut – a stronghold clinging to the bend like a rainbow spanning an ark from the hills above down to the crossroads. Mother, steadfast as the Angelus bell among bags of … Continue reading →