How should we describe the extraordinary consensus that existed in this country — a consensus that united us all around core concepts like ‘free markets’, ‘competition is the only way’, ‘private enterprise good, public enterprise bad’, ‘social partnership’, ‘entrepreneurship’, ‘greed is good’, ‘conspicuous consumption’? For a long time we lived inside a bubble. The walls [...]
IT ALL begins with words. Words that teem and toss about, they stream and eddy. They’re torrential and pressing and insistent. They are lovely to hear inside, they talk to you; they are a delight to hear coming in, hovering, banking, waiting to land – that tree, sitka but call it evergreen, the flowers “sweet [...]
…The sad, baffling news of James Liddy’s death, the mentor of my youthful verse and friend of almost 40 years. I always thought he would live to a ripe old age, still having fun, still dazzling us with his Wildean erudtion and high-class gossip. He was born on The Night of the Long Knives,as he [...]
This sad news from Poetry ireland: Sydney Bernard Smith Poetry Ireland was saddened to hear of the passing of poet and writer Sydney Bernard Smith. In the past Sydney had read for Poetry Ireland, has been a contributor to Poetry Ireland Review and his Poems 1957-2006 was favourably reviewed in PIR 92. He published a [...]