I Only Know That I Love Strength in My Friends and Greatness - by James Liddy (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

James Liddy, Irish, catholic and gay, is one of Ireland's greatest poets. He stands critically among the best, as he flies in the margins. This new collection weaves Liddy's images of life, love, religion and sexuality, and he applauds--but is also not afraid to look "askance" at-- his friends and other poets. As critic Mike Begnal says in his Afterword, Liddy, the outsider, "remains dangerous and potent. An on-the-run priest at the Mass Rock. He has his readers; he will have more. He does not crave critical acceptance, only the regard of his friends." This collection is a highlight in a career which continues to soar.

Review Quotes

The Ireland that James Liddy grew up in was a reactionary catholic backwater. Fortunately, the karma of this gay genius transforms the dogma of his inheritance into a life-enhancing experience. I love the sensuous ardour of his poems, the groan and gasp of his words, the pulse and pant of his vowels, the throb of syllables. I am totally
enthralled by this eros of language at the core of his vision--his voice. Like Eugenio de Andrade he wants his poems to be a tremble of light, a moan of earth. This book is a real carnival of colour, a liberating libidinous jolt of joy to the spirit.

--Cathal Ó Searcaigh

About the Author

James Liddy was first published by the Dolmen Press in the early 1960s, and since then his work has been published and celebrated internationally. He is a professor at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.