Book Reviews and More: Selected Poems

Selected Poems

John Irvine (1903-1965)

The Arden Press

Belfast

1948

This volume will mark the eleventh volume of poems I have read by Irvine. I stumbled upon this author. I was reading one of the Vision Books for young readers, 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 in 1948.

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 volume is different than the other ten I have read. It is a collection of poems all drawn from other volumes. The other volumes, year of print and number of poems from them are:

A Voice in the Dusk, 1932 – 11 Poems

Winds From the South, 1936 – 15 Poems

Willow Leaves, 1942 – 15 Poems

Nocture, 1943 – 14 Poems

From Fountain of Hellas, 1944 – 13 Poems

With No Changed Voice, 1956 – 25 Poems

Voces Intimae – 12 Poems

The volume Voces Intimae does not have a date so I wonder if it was forthcoming at the time of publication of this volume. There is a large acknowledgments at the beginning of the volume:

“I wish to tender my sincere thanks to the editors of the following publications for permissiqn to reprint poems which first appeared in their pages : "The Best Poems of 1938", "The Best Poems of 1942", "Northern Harvest", "The Cornhill", "Country Life", "The Argosy", " Chambers's Journal", " Hellas ", " The Dublin Magazine", "The Irish Times", "The Irish Independent", "The Irish Weekly Independent", "Lagan", "The Northman", "T he New York HeraldTribune" and the American poetry magazines "Wings" and "The Lyric".

I am also indebted to the following publishers : The Quota Press, Belfast; Wm. Mullan & Sons, Belfast; The Orwell Press, Dublin; The Talhot Press, Dublin; The Runa Press, Dublin; The Three Candles Press, Dublin; Mr. G. Morrow, and to Messrs. Boosey & Co. Ltd., for permission to reprint "·Spring" and "In the Faery Hills'' which first appeared in the song cycle "A Voice in the Dusk", the musical setting by C. Armstrong Gibbs. The poem "Highways and Byways" appears in this collection by the courtesy of The Ulster Tourist Association.”

But there is no mention or explanation for Voces Intimae. Each section has the original Title Page and Dedication before the selected poems. As such the sections and poems in this volume are:

From "A Voice in the Dusk''

Enchantment

To One Gone Hence

Quest

Sanctuary

Nightfall

Pity

Three Cinquains

The Lovers

I Could Have Loved Thee

Invocation

Last Night's Wind

From "Wind from the South"

Sorrow In Spring

Heartsease

To The Unfaithful Beloved

Captive

Canticle Of Spring

Four Cinquains

Song -

Evensong -

The Prisoner

Moon Magic

Leavetaking

In The Mournes

Night Piece

The Quiet Night

Unending Quest

From "Willow Leaves"

(Poems in the manner of the early Chinese poets)

Tu Li-Po

Nocturne

Dusk

We Are As Dust

The Sorrow Of Ming Huang

Spring

To Yuan (In The South)

The Soldiers

The Dancing Girl

Impatient For The Spring

Meeting With Friends

Music At Dusk

Cheng

Farewell

From "Nocturne"

Chopin

Trees

At The Coming Of Night

October

By A Riverside

Mairi

All Lovely Things

The Island

Craigey Woods

Spring

Jean

In The Faery Hills

Migration

Valediction

From "The Fountain of Hellas," 1944

(Adaptations from the Greek Anthology)

The Grecian Garland

The Poet' S Ascent

Enduring Wealth

The End Of Beauty

A Bower

A Dead Child

The Unfairness Of Wine

A Bumper

Erinna

A Dead Herdsman

To A Virgin

Astronomy

The Pastoral Pipe

From "With No Changed Voice"

Song

The Swans -

The Throstle

To A Blackbird -

Lines Addressed To A Great Artist

Lyric

Sic Transit Gloria Mundi -

The Undying Dream -

London Sketches

A Lost Cause

Beyond

Sibelius

Dark Red Roses

Sea-Haunted

Hellas

The Mother

Carrowdore

The Barley Field

The Changeling

Faery

To One Grown Old

Restless Woods

Night

The Heart Remembers Morning

Vale

Voces Intimae

Romance

To A Poet In Early Youth

The Rebuke

Highways And Byways

Padraig

Winter Sorrow

April

The Burden Of Unrest

Invocation In Winter

Pastoral

Lebanon

Transience

I will only share a few poems from that final section as I have shared three poems from each of the other volumes when I have reviewed them. This section begins with this quote:

“The waves of the sea have spoken to me; the wild birds have taught me; the music of many waters has been my master.”

-Kalevala

This final section is dedicated to W.H. Conn. Three sample poems from this section are:

TO A POET IN EARLY YOUTH

Poet, listen while I speak

Now that youth is on your cheek,

And the dream within your eyes,

Tell me all the ancient lies.

Tell me you have found love fair

You who have not known despair.

Tell me life is kind and sweet

You who have not known defeat.

Tell me of unclouded years

You who know not bitter tears.

Poet, you are dreaming yet

Things that gladly I forget.

Listen poet once again,

Songs like yours are sung in vain.

Such unquestioning belief

Ends in bitterness or grief.

Youth is ecstasy but blind.

Life will teach you, you will find,

That above our puny sighs

Each slow dusk the J?leiads rise,

And behind his prison bars

Man looks upward to the stars.

Each day that dawns, each sun that sets

Brings its yearnings and regrets,

But wisdom draws the veils aside.

Then the eyes are opened wide,

And suddenly the truth will ring

In every stanza that you sing . . .

And may be when a long time dead

Your verse will be admired and read.

I who keep a silent tongue

Once felt like you, when I was young,

And loved the beautiful and true,

But then, I was a poet too.

HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS

Meadows I love, and orchards and tall trees,

The little burns that sparkle and are bright,

And fields of barley in the sunny breeze,

And curlew calling in the dim half-light.

Old villages that lie among the hills,

The lonely glens and rivers that are slow,

The fuchsia hedges, and the fairy thorns,

And cottage doorways where the roses blow.

The little fields of Antrim and of Down,

The mountain paths and woodlands by the sea,

The rocky headlands and the sheltered bays,

And moorlands where the winds are blowing free.

The dusty· roads are waiting for our feet,

The country inns and many a leafy lane,

Oh come then, for the sake of old desire

And walk with me the Irish roads again.

WINTER SORROW

Even if the heart be numb with grief

There will be sweet days c0me again,

Of daffodil and fluttering leaf,

Of bird song and the silver rain.

Of childrens' voices and the sun,

Of whispering winds and twilights grey,

And quiet peace when day is done

And memories of yesterday.

The well-loved hills eternal stand,

White in the moon the meadows lie;

In life and death we are at one

With wind, and sun, and earth, and sky.

This final section is the only volume I am not able to track down in some library around the world. And I do not know if it was ever published. This collection was published 17 years before Irvine passed, so I do hope to track it down some day. I enjoyed this eleventh collection of poems that I have read from the pen of Irvine.

I was able to track down a copy of this thanks to the National Library of Ireland. The NLI has all volumes I have found written by Irvine and 5 of the 8 edited by him; which I will now be tracking down to review. I am now trying to hunt the remaining volumes down. These poems were very enjoyable, and I am certain they would be to you as well, if you give them a chance. It is the largest collection of Irvin’s work.

If you can track down a copy to read it is well worth it! Another great collection of poems I can easily recommend it.

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2026 Catholic Reading Plan!

Books by John Irvine:

A Treasury of Irish Saints A Book of Poems

A Voice in the Dusk

A Voice in the Dusk Lyrics

By Winding Roads

Fountain Of Hellas: Poems From The Greek Anthology

Green Altars: Poems

Lost Sanctuary and Other Poems

Nocturne: Poems

Selected Poems