Review of Topical Poetry Book

Senator Maurice Hayes, former Ombudsman in NI, voices his approval in a review of the re-issued, from 1998, long poem about the North, “Pity for the Wicked” By Brian Lynch in the Irish Independent – A tract for the times – Lynch’s poem on the North [registration site]He concludes :

Satire, although proper and necessary does not have to be right. Poets have a relatively poor track record as legislators. The situation in Northern Ireland, which has improved remarkably for those on the ground, does not yet necessitate a total withdrawal of hope, especially if all the poet has to offer, after all the rage, is pity as a substitute for silence.

This is nevertheless a powerful piece, a necessary mirror held up to nature, a tract for the times.


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