Category Archives: Uncategorized

The fact that Elizabeth Bishop wrote The Bight on her 37th birthday is significant.  In the poem, the poet looks out to sea and searches for symbols that have significance in her own life.  She takes soundings from the sea, diving deep into her  subconscious in … Continue reading →

Some writers stay with us forever.  The Russian writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn is one such writer.  Whenever I read his prose poem ‘Freedom to Breathe’ I find myself renewed both in mind and spirit. And since I cannot do justice to it in … Continue reading →

I’ve always loved Elizabeth Bishop’s poem The Fish not just because it’s so technically well-crafted, but also because in the poem Bishop supplies us with a totally different perspective on what it means to go fishing. In Bishop’s poem, the … Continue reading →

I first wrote this piece in February 2007 and re-reading it I see no cause to alter it except to comment that since I wrote it the price for paintings by well-known artists has risen to record-high levels in recent times.  What this … Continue reading →

Ireland, being a Catholic nation, tends to inbue its personalities and celebrities with an iconic status and as a nation we like to promote our image abroad. In recent times however, that image has become somewhat tarnished with the revelations regarding the Irish Catholic … Continue reading →

I find it interesting when people talk about sharing as if it were the most natural thing in the world.  I’m all for sharing, in theory, at least.  In my experience, however, it doesn’t always work in practice. For instance, I read recently … Continue reading →

The fact that Elizabeth Bishop wrote The Bight on her 37th birthday is significant.  In the poem, the poet looks out to sea and searches for symbols that have significance in her own life.  She takes soundings from the sea, diving deep into her  … Continue reading →