The Ulster Renaissance Poetry in Belfast 1962-1972 [Hardcover]

This is the first full-length study of the extraordinary period of intense poetic activity in Belfast known as the Ulster Renaissance--a time when young Northern Irish poets such as Seamus Heaney, Derek Mahon, Michael Longley, James Simmons, and Paul Muldoon began crafting their art, and tuning their voices through each other. Drawing extensively upon new archival material, as well as personal interviews and correspondence,The Ulster Renaissanceargues that these poets' friendships and rivalries were crucial to their autonomous artistic development. The book also sheds new light on the idea of a collaborative Belfast coterie--often treated derisively by critics--and shows that the poets frequently engaged in efforts to promote a cohesive Northern literary community, distinct from that which existed in London and Dublin. It suggests that it was this cohesion, at turns inclusive and confining, which ultimately challenged the Belfast poets to find their individual voices.

1. Beginnings
2. The Belfast Group
3. Renaissance
4. 'Genuine Accents'
5. 'MacSimmittoon'
6. Separate Selves

At almost every turn of page, Clark'sThe Ulster Renaissanceis a book full of useful information that might otherwise have gone scattered, full of details evocative of the period and its personalities, and full of suggestions as to connections and reconnections between poets and poems. It is the best sort of literary history because it is a book worth arguing with. --Thomas Dillon Redshaw,New Hibernia Review

Heather Clark's study is a useful piece of work...she covers her ground with clarity, point and economy. --Peter McDonald,Times Literary Supplement

Heather Clark was educated at Harvard, Trinity College Dublin, and Lincoln College, Oxford. She currently lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and is Assistant Professor of Literature at Marlboro College. She has written forLet's GoTravel Guides in lc)