The September Poetry Book Group will be meeting via Zoom
Monday, September 21st • 6:30 PM ET / 11:30 PM IST via Zoom
Session open to all: no registration required.
Click on this link to join the Zoom session
Find out about Solas Nua's Poetry Book Group and titles list
Join the Book Group's Facebook Group here!
Days of Surprise by Paul Durcan
"Durcan is the poet of many moods, carefully calibrated or appearing to run wild - off the leash - into manic comedy that will have you snorting up your sleeve."
– RTE, Paddy Kehoe
"Paul Durcan has found a style like no-one else’s, a style that it is hard to imagine anyone else making anything out of: wildly varying line lengths, faux-naïve rhyming, conversational banalities, adjectives piled on top of one another. Colm Tóibín has called him a poet of ‘odd tones and surprising textures’: somehow, though, the oddness never feels wilful or forced."
– London Bookshop Review, John Clegg
"Paul Durcan: the most playful poet in Ireland. His latest book contains 67 poems on such disparate topics as the weather forecast, the Syrian war, a visit to the GP, retail therapy, clampers and Seamus Heaney. There is sadness, illness, anger and trademark humour."
– The Irish Times, Arminta Wallace
About the Book
A topical new collection from one of Ireland's best, and best-loved poets.
Paul Durcan never imagined he would be clasped by a woman again, but life is full of surprises! After all, would it surprise you to learn that at the US Ambassador's Residence in Dublin his libido almost destroyed the Peace Process? There is a new Pope, too, a 'man of constant surprise', although in St Peter's Square Durcan encounters a monk wholly lacking in the Holy Spirit.
Elsewhere he muses upon the 'pre-crucifixion scenario' of being prepared for surgery, the gift of a malacca cane, the joy of retail therapy, the horror that is wheel-clamping, the 'starry mystique' of the weather forecaster Jean Byrne, suicide, bird-watching, stammering, art, Mayo, New York City, New Zealand, murder in Syria and the commemoration of 1916. Perhaps the greatest surprise is the voice of the late Seamus Heaney coming down his chimney: 'Are you all right down there, Poet Durcan?' The Days of Surprise is proof that the great poet of contemporary Ireland is in fine fettle.
About the Author
Paul Durcan was a notable Irish poet born in Dublin to attorneys John and Sheila Durcan. He studied at University College, Cork, earning first-class honors before beginning his poetry career, which initially garnered limited attention. However, his collection "The Selected Paul Durcan" published in 1982 marked a significant turning point, elevating his reputation in the literary world. Known for his fierce independence and a distinctive voice that critiques various aspects of Irish society, Durcan employs a blend of sarcasm and reflection in his work. Over the years, Durcan has received numerous accolades, including the Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award and the Whitbread Poetry Prize. He received a lifetime achievement award at the Irish Book Awards in 2014. Durcan remains an influential figure in contemporary poetry, bridging traditional and modern influences.
All events are listed in Eastern Time and Irish Standard Time.
