Lunch Poems - Eavan Boland

Born in Dublin, Ireland, Eavan Boland is one of the foremost voices in Irish literature. Her ten volumes of poetry include Against Love Poetry, which was a New York Times notable book, and New Collected Poems. She is also a noted editor and translator. Her awards include a Lannan Foundation Award and an American Ireland Fund Literary Award. She is a professor of English and Creative Writing at Stanford University.

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Education

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• UC
• Berkeley
• ucberkeley
• event
• Lunch
• Poems
• Eavan
• Boland
• literature
• poetry

[red8chord]

I could listen to this woman for hours. Being Irish, and an aspiring poet, I drink her up, but feel she has said everything I could want to! Where to go from Eavan?

[IamGilgamesh666]

@donnca

In my opinion, she has a right to express what she wants. I think that we disagree on whether her feelings are justified, but we'll have to agree to disagree on that account. Also, maybe she does give to charities and help people. I don't know.... but it's unfair to say that she hasn't without proof. You're judging her on a personal level, but you don't know her (presumably) so I think that that is quite unfair. :P

[IamGilgamesh666]

@donnca

Well that could be said about any poet. What poets do IS write about issues and express their feelings like this. I don't know anything about Behan, I must admit, but I still think that Boland has every right to write about Irish suffering. Also, her poetry does highlight a lot of injustices; it educates people and that's invaluable. In her poem "Child of Our Time", for example, she creates a supreme disdain for extremist republicanism which many students have and will study.(Continued)

[donnca]

@IamGilgamesh666 Also, I do believe if she feels so strongly about it she should stick her neck out and do something about it - other than writing poems which make her money and get her invited to posh parties. As I said, Behan earned his right to comment with blood sweat and years in prison - yet he was able to poke fun at his nation, his class and himself.

[donnca]

@IamGilgamesh666 Perhaps I expressed myself a little stridently, however, I do find the (so far as I can see) complete disregard for her privileged status in the society in which she lives objectionable given the overtly political nature of her poems. To bemoan her own plight without acknowledging the situation of her contemporaries, natives of the same city, who do not share the privileges she does, is remiss of a person of her standing.Reverential tone is also nauseating 4 my personal taste

[IamGilgamesh666]

@donnca

That's a really generic moral agenda you have there. Boland sympathises with the victims of the famine and a lot of her poetry is about recognising them. Who are you to say that, because she was born wealthy, she is not allowed to feel sorry for famine victims who suffered so greatly? In fact she actually talks about ativism in "The War Horse". Just because she didn't suffer in the famine herself doesn't mean that she's not allowed to feel strongly about Irish people suffering.

[gavbag1234]

7:12 <---- (to skip the intro. )