Patrick Kavanagh
Patrick Kavanagh
Patrick Kavanaghwas an Irish poet and novelist. His best-known works include the novel Tarry Flynn, and the poems "On Raglan Road" and "The Great Hunger". He is known for his accounts of Irish life through reference to the everyday and commonplace...
NationalityIrish
ProfessionPoet
Date of Birth21 October 1904
CountryIreland
artistic cliche life pubs writers
Young writers should keep out of pubs and remember that the cliche way of the artistic life is a lie.
court follow forced gives happen high job judge love poetic poetry pubs truest
In its truest manifestation, where it gives judgments, poetry is super-luxury. It would be interesting to see what would happen to a High Court judge if he were forced to follow the true poetic formula, doing the job for love, being forced into pubs for relief.
exploiting incidental irish late local merely poetic poetry pursue writers
Poetry is not Irish or any other nationality; and when writers such as Messrs. Clarke, Farren and the late F. R. Higgins pursue Irishness as a poetic end, they are merely exploiting incidental local colour.
depth experience field fields four fully gap junction land man narrow poetic rock small smooth stream view woody
To know fully even one field or one land is a lifetime's experience. In the world of poetic experience it is depth that counts, not width. A gap in a hedge, a smooth rock surfacing a narrow lane, a view of a woody meadow, the stream at the junction of four small fields - these are as much as a man can fully experience.
memories imagination stem
On the stem of memory imaginations blossom.
kings hate past
The bicycles go by in twos and threes - There's a dance in Billy Brennan's barn to-night, And there's the half-talk code of mysteries And the wink-and-elbow language of delight. Half-past eight and there is not a spot Upon a mile of road, no shadow thrown That might turn out a man or woman, not A footfall tapping secrecies of stone. I have what every poet hates in spite Of all the solemn talk of contemplation. Oh, Alexander Selkirk knew the plight Of being king and government and nation. A road, a mile of kingdom, I am king Of banks and stones and every blooming thing.
giving listening opinion
A sweeping statement is the only statement worth listening to. The critic without faith gives balanced opinions, usually about second-rate writers.
beautiful years land
My chin is weak. I find it hard to make decisions. For years I had been caught between the two stools of security on the land and rich-scented life on the exotic islands of literature. I wasn't really a writer. I had seen a strange beautiful light on the hills and that was all.
loneliness grief special
We are not alone in our loneliness, others have been here and known griefs we thought our special own...
rejection should left
Macmillan's rejection had left him very downcast... Patrick Swift was invited to peruse the contents and decided that the poems should be published.
names mediocrity malice
Malice is only another name for mediocrity.
verses
I dabbled in verse and it became my life
opinion miserable enjoy
It often occurs to me that we love most what makes us miserable. In my opinion the damned are damned because they enjoy being damned.
newspapers
What appears in newspapers is often new but seldom true.