Book Reviews and More: Fountain Of Hellas Poems From The Greek Anthology

Fountain Of Hellas:

Poems From The Greek Anthology Attempted in English Verse

John Irvine (1903-1965)

Leslie Owen Bacter (Illustrator)

Derrick MacCord

Belfast

1943

Fountain Of Hellas Poems From The Greek Anthology - John Irvine

When I first encountered the title of this volume I assumed it was an anthology edited by Irvine. It was only after I received a copy from the National Library of Ireland that I realized it was a collection of poems written in the Greek style. Therefor it is much like Willow Leaves: Lyrics in the Manner of the Early Chinese Poets, where John wrote a collection in a specific style.

This volume will mark the twelfth I have read by Irvine. I stumbled upon this author. I was reading one of the Vision Books for young readers, specifically Irish Saints by Robert T. Reilly, and there was an excerpt of a poem from A Treasury of Irish Saints A Book of Poems. It was really intriguing and after reading that first volume I made it a mission to try and track down everything Irvine published. At first my dyslexia had me thinking it was John Irving, and I have read a few of his fiction books. But some quick searching put that idea to rest. This author John Irvine lived from 1903-1965. This volume was originally published in1941.

About the author on a site with information about Irish authors states:

“John Irvine was born in Belfast and published several collections of poems: A Voice in the Dark, 1932; Willow Leaves: Lyrics in the Manner of the Early Chinese Poets,1941; Lost Sanctuary and other poems among others. He edited The Flowering Branch: An Anthology of Irish Poetry Past and Present.”

Another online description of the author states:

“Irvine, born in Belfast, published about six collections of lyrics between 1932 and 1954, mostly from small presses in Belfast and Dublin. He also edited an anthology of Irish poetry, The Flowering Branch.”

This book begins with a dedication which states:

"TO RICHARD ROWLEY who found Helicon in the goodly lands of Mourne : With affectionate regard, and enduring friendship I inscribe these verses.”

There is also an acknowledgements that states:

“I wish to thank sincerely the following whose scholarly advice and guidance has been of the greatest value to me in the creation of this little book: Sir Richard Livingstone, Mr. Seumas O'Sullivan , Professor T. A. Sinclair, Mr. 0. E. Rudnitsky, and Mr. Dermot O'Neill. My thanks are also due to Mr. L. 0. Baxter for the illustrations, and to the editor of "The Irish Times," for permission to reprint "A Dead Child" which first appeared in the columns of that paper.”

The preface states states:

“It is with true humility that I publish these verses. To my sorrow I have no Greek, but have ever been imbued with admiration for that noble and heroic people, and their imperishable literature. Many poets with scholarship equal to the task have given us translations from the classic language, and often things of exquisite beauty . . . Be mine then a small voice without the portals. One who makes a humble attempt to render into English verse a few jewels from the treasury of Hellenic song.”

The preface was written in 1943 in the spring. The poems in this volume are:

The Garland

The Poet's Ascent

A Millionaire

CONTENTS

On An Inn at Cibyra

The Simple Life

Enduring Wealth

The Beautiful Aster

The End of Beauty

Heliodora's Wreath

A Bower

Plato The Harpist

A Dead Child

A Dead Wife

Love the Brigand

An Illiterate

The Unfairness of Wine

A Gourmand

A Bumper

On a Dead Slave

A Dead Virgin

A Dead Christian

Erinna

Anacreon

A Dead Herdsman

A Poet

To A Virgin

Astronomy

On Gossip

The Pastoral Pipe

Heraclitus

I enjoyed this twelfth volume of poems that I have read from the pen of Irvine. The one bio above mentions 6 collections of poems but I have found a total of 17, including some special editions listed below, and also 6 volumes Irvine edited of other poems including the earliest published as J. Pennington Irvine. A few sample poems from this volume are:

THE POET'S ASCENT

(after Honestus)

Thy limbs were wearied in the great ascent;

Low waned the moon in many a sleepless dawn;

But nectar from the springs of Pegasus

Sustained thee on the slopes of Helicon.

Poets have many a broken road to climb,

But if at last thy footsteps reach the crest

Drink of the chalice proffered by the gods

And feel immortal lips on cheek and breast.

ENDURING WEALTH

(after Crates of Thebes)

True wealth is culture: it shall perish not.

Age gives to age the flower of its thought,

The learning that I had I still retain

And that nobility the Muses taught.

But all my rich possessions, where are they?

Lost with the vanities of yesterday.

THE END OF BEAUTY

(after Strata)

If thou be boastful of thy beauty,

Remember that the rose is fair:

But all too soon the ruined petals

Are scattered in the morning air.

So seasons change and summer passes

And youth has but a little hour,

For time the envious claims his tribute

And beauty passes like a flower.

A DEAD CHILD

(after Zonas of Sardis)

Shadowy Charon, pitiful of woe

On thy dark barge that bears the veiled dead

When o'er the dark and reedy lakes you row,

Look kindly on the child's bewildered head.

When as thou sailest through the starless night

Ploughing the lonely water, still and deep,

With gentleness 0 comfort him I pray-

The infant son of Cinyras, if he weep.

And when at last you reach the silent land

And from the dearth of water lift thine oar,

In mercy stretch a hand to him and see

His little feet safe on the sandy shore.

I hope those four poems give you a feel for the collection. In many ways it feels very different his other works. The poems vary from one stanza to a few; all poems are contained on single page, with an image on the facing page. The artwork is in a Greek style but appear to be woodcuts. I reread the volume after I finished it, for each of the other 11 volumes I have read received 5/5 stars but even after a second reading I only give this one a 4. It was not as enjoyable. I am not sure if that is from the constraining in trying to write in the Greek style, or the subjects employed because of that. I am thankful I read it I just read did not connect with it the same way I did with Irvine’s other poetry.