{"product_id":"familiar-strangers-new-selected-poems-1960-2004-9781852246631","title":"Familiar Strangers: New \u0026 Selected Poems 1960-2004","description":"Familiar Strangers is Brendan Kennelly's own selection from over 20 poetry books written over five decades. This landmark volume replaces his earlier selections A Time for Voices, Breathing Spaces and Begin. But Kennelly has revisited his life work, re-scoring familiar and estranged pieces into new gatherings which reflect his preoccupations more powerfully, bringing together poems from different times - and adding many new, previously lost or uncollected poems - so that they speak in chorus like the generations of people they celebrate.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\tBrendan Kennelly (1936-2021) was one of Ireland's most distinguished \u003cbr\u003eand best loved poets, as well as a renowned teacher and cultural \u003cbr\u003ecommentator. Born in Ballylongford, Co. Kerry, he was Professor of \u003cbr\u003eModern Literature at Trinity College, Dublin for over 30 years, and \u003cbr\u003eretired from teaching in 2005.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\t\u003cp\u003eHe published over 30 books of poetry, including \u003ci\u003eFamiliar Strangers: New \u0026amp; Selected Poems 1960-2004\u003c\/i\u003e (2004), which includes the whole of his book-length poem \u003ci\u003eThe Man Made of Rain\u003c\/i\u003e (1998). He was best-known for two controversial poetry books, \u003ci\u003eCromwell\u003c\/i\u003e, published in Ireland in 1983 and in Britain by Bloodaxe in 1987, and his epic poem \u003ci\u003eThe Book of Judas\u003c\/i\u003e (1991), which topped the Irish bestsellers list: a shorter version was published by Bloodaxe in 2002 as \u003ci\u003eThe Little Book of Judas\u003c\/i\u003e. His third epic, \u003ci\u003ePoetry My Arse\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e (1995), did much to outdo these in notoriety. All these remain \u003cbr\u003eavailable separately from Bloodaxe, along with his more recent titles: \u003ci\u003eGlimpses\u003c\/i\u003e (2001), \u003ci\u003eMartial Art\u003c\/i\u003e (2003), \u003ci\u003eNow\u003c\/i\u003e (2006), \u003ci\u003eReservoir Voices\u003c\/i\u003e (2009), \u003ci\u003eThe Essential Brendan Kennelly: Selected Poems\u003c\/i\u003e, edited by Terence Brown and Michael Longley, with audio CD (2011), and \u003ci\u003eGuff\u003c\/i\u003e (2013).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\t\u003cp\u003eHis drama titles include \u003ci\u003eWhen Then Is Now\u003c\/i\u003e (2006), a trilogy of his modern versions of three Greek tragedies (all previously published by Bloodaxe): Sophocles' \u003ci\u003eAntigone\u003c\/i\u003e and Euripides' \u003ci\u003eMedea\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Trojan Women\u003c\/i\u003e. His \u003ci\u003eAntigone\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Trojan Women\u003c\/i\u003e were both first performed at the Peacock Theatre, Dublin, in 1986 and 1993 respectively; \u003ci\u003eMedea\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e premièred in the Dublin Theatre Festival in 1988, toured in England in \u003cbr\u003e1989 and was broadcast by BBC Radio 3. His other plays include Lorca's \u003ci\u003eBlood Wedding\u003c\/i\u003e (Northern Stage, Newcastle \u0026amp; Bloodaxe, 1996).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\t\u003cp\u003eHis translations of Irish poetry are available in \u003ci\u003eLove of Ireland: Poems from the Irish\u003c\/i\u003e (Mercier Press, 1989). He has edited several anthologies, including \u003ci\u003eThe Penguin Book of Irish Verse\u003c\/i\u003e (1970\/1981), \u003ci\u003eIreland's Women: Writings Past and Present\u003c\/i\u003e, with Katie Donovan and A. Norman Jeffares (Gill \u0026amp; Macmillan, 1994), and \u003ci\u003eDublines\u003c\/i\u003e, with Katie Donovan (Bloodaxe Books, 1995), and published two early novels, \u003ci\u003eThe Crooked Cross\u003c\/i\u003e (1963) and \u003ci\u003eThe Florentines\u003c\/i\u003e (1967).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\t\u003cp\u003eHis\u003ci\u003e Journey into Joy: Selected Prose\u003c\/i\u003e, edited by Åke Persson, was published by Bloodaxe in 1994, along with \u003ci\u003eDark Fathers into Light\u003c\/i\u003e, a critical anthology on his work edited by Richard Pine. John McDonagh's critical study \u003ci\u003eBrendan Kennelly: A Host of Ghosts\u003c\/i\u003e was published in The Liffey Press's Contemporary Irish Writers series in 2004. His anthology \u003cem\u003eThe Heavy Bear Who Goes with Me\u003c\/em\u003e - co-edited with Neil Astley - is due from Bloodaxe in 2022.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Bloodaxe Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50433310261522,"sku":"9781852246631","price":25.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_6203fa9a-b84e-4c90-940e-02b89ed1fbab.jpg?v=1729566947","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/familiar-strangers-new-selected-poems-1960-2004-9781852246631","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}