Lies

When does a poem tell the truth? When is it a lie? Intimate moments carefully re-appraised (first dates, break ups, young parenthood, etc.) are the raw material of these vivid and wholly engaging poems, written in Irish, and translated here by the author – a process that itself raises questions about poetry and truth. But the real achievement of Ní Ghríofa’s work is the way in which she keeps her personal history open to the wider world, to the imaginative encounters that animate so many of the poems, to an acute awareness of the restless nature of language itself, and not least to the women who preceded her and who remain a steadying and guiding presence throughout.