Forty Shades of Verse

April 1st, 2016

Awake Goy

Like many self-achievers poet Michael Walsh is better known beyond Ireland’s borders. Seeking to put things right the bard has published Forty Shades of Verse. In tribute to his Donegal, Wexford and Tipperary roots the collection draws inspiration from the pastures, forests, glens, rivers and loughs of Ireland.

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Beautifully illustrated, Forty Shades of Verse is absorbed page by page like the finest claret. As one ponders the poet’s many evocations and images a saintly apparition comes into focus. Clearly imagined is Saint Erin, a beautiful colleen radiating natural loveliness, her crown a coronet of English thorns.

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Michael describes his Irish parents as his twin-inkpots. His father, Patrick, a veteran of the Irish War of Independence and Spanish Civil War chose his Irish bride Caitlin wisely. Michael’s father was a lifelong friend of playwright Sean O’Casey and associate of Ernest Hemingway. The Irish blood of Michael’s parentage and heritage is in every pen stroke of this remarkable bard. The award-winning essayist has so far published nearly 700 poems to international acclaim.