Back from a mini tour of Yorkshire and Stockport and cheering for supporting act Indignation Meeting
Outstanding Northern Irish poet
JENNY FARRELL pays tribute to the late Michael Longley, whose poetry, forged in the time of The Troubles, speaks to today’s wars
LONGLEY
ALISTAR FINDLAY is mesmerised by this multiple ‘Visions of Scotland’ assault on the audience’s eyes and senses
The Star's critics ANGUS REID, ANDY HEDGECOCK and MICHAL BONCZA reviews I Am Love, The Penguin Lessons, Freaky Tales, The Thicket
MAYER WAKEFIELD has reservations about the direction of a play centered on a DVLA re-training session for three British-Pakistani motorists
New releases from Steve Knightley, Jupiter & Okwess, Jason Palmer, Lisa Knapp and Gerry Driver, Kin'Gongolo Kiniata, Ingrid Laubrock/Tom Rainey, Dan Sealey, Simin Tande, PAZ
JOHN GREEN relishes photography that unfolds a longstanding and poetic relationship with Leeds
A uncomfortably misogynistic authorial voice that sometimes seems to lack insight troubles FIONA O’CONNOR
MICHAEL LONGLEY, one of Ireland’s most celebrated poets, passed away at 85 on January 22, 2025, leaving behind a remarkable legacy spanning more than 50 years. His death marks the end of a significant generation of Irish poets.
Longley was born in Belfast in 1939 to English parents, the same year as Seamus Heaney, who was raised in rural Co Derry. Alongside Derek Mahon, these three poets formed a triumvirate of talent that came to prominence in the 1960s. Benefiting from the introduction of free secondary education in Britain after World War II, Longley attended the Royal Belfast Academical Institution, where his love for literature flourished. Later, at Trinity College Dublin, he immersed himself in Classics, a field that would greatly shape his poetry.
The connection between Longley, Heaney, and Mahon was pivotal. Despite their different denominational and cultural backgrounds, they became leading voices in the literary renaissance of the north of Ireland during the 1960s.
More from this author
While the group known as the Colourists certainly reinvigorated Scottish painting, a new show is a welcome chance to reassess them, writes ANGUS REID
ANGUS REID recommends an exquisite drama about the disturbing impact of the one child policy in contemporary China
The phrase “cruel to be kind” comes from Hamlet, but Shakespeare’s Prince didn’t go in for kidnap, explosive punches, and cigarette deprivation. Tam is different.
ANGUS REID deconstructs a popular contemporary novel aimed at a ‘queer’ young adult readership
