The Collected Poems 1956-1994 (The Oxford Poets)

The Collected Poems of the distinguished poet Thomas Kinsella contains virtually all his own poems, written over the past forty years. His early books, of the 1950s and 1960s, include occasional poems, lyrics in traditional forms, and longer poems and sequences on themes ranging from history to politics. There are speculative narratives in local settings, such as "A Country Walk" and "Downstream," and family poems of close observation, with a growing mythical and allegorical element. There is also much public poety, including "Butcher's Dozen," on the Bloody Sunday shootings in Derry in 1972. His books since the 1980s continue with poems of public and literary comment, such as "Open Court," and a growing body of personal and private poetry, including "Songs of the Psyche" and "Personal Places." The Collected Poems offers readers an intriguing glimpse into the evolution of a fascinating poet.