Michael Longley at the Corrymeela Peace Centre in Ballycastle, Northern Ireland, July 2012
[Andrewincowtown/CC]
HENRY BELL is fascinated by the underlying curiosities and contradictions of one of the great poets of the Mediterranean
DAVID RENTON recommends a books that explores the ways in which disabled people are made to feel both of and not part of this world
JONATHAN TAYLOR is fascinated by the philosophical problems that permeate the art of life-writing
GORDON PARSONS steps warily in between the lines of Britain’s most famous diarist
SIMON DUFF recommends a recording of Arvo Part that takes the listener on a pilgrimage through seemingly distant times and events of the Bible
MICHAEL LONGLEY, one of Ireland’s most celebrated poets, passed away at 85 on January 22, 2025, leaving behind a remarkable legacy spanning more than 50 years. His death marks the end of a significant generation of Irish poets.
Longley was born in Belfast in 1939 to English parents, the same year as Seamus Heaney, who was raised in rural Co Derry. Alongside Derek Mahon, these three poets formed a triumvirate of talent that came to prominence in the 1960s. Benefiting from the introduction of free secondary education in Britain after World War II, Longley attended the Royal Belfast Academical Institution, where his love for literature flourished. Later, at Trinity College Dublin, he immersed himself in Classics, a field that would greatly shape his poetry.
The connection between Longley, Heaney, and Mahon was pivotal. Despite their different denominational and cultural backgrounds, they became leading voices in the literary renaissance of the north of Ireland during the 1960s.
Why not pay a visit to Feile an Phobail, a people’s festival of community arts with roots in the days of internment without trial, and where the spirit of solidarity remains undimmed, says LYNDA WALKER
FIONA O'CONNOR recommends a biography that is a beautiful achievement and could stand as a manifesto for the power of subtlety in art
