John Hewitt: Selected Poems

I come from the Ulster Planter tradition myself so the poetry of unionist Dissenter John Hewitt has a particular resonance for me. The poems in this collection ,written in the mid 20th century, are mainly reflections on nature and rural life,mostly in or around the Glens of Antrim area beloved by the poet. There are quite a few poems about Hewitt's family as well as ones dealing with his identity as a unionist who ,although feeling to some extent Irish ,also feels separate from the rest of the island's native Gaelic population. Having just read a Ted Hughes anthology,I must say that Hewitt's poetry is much easier to read and understand. He uses rhyme more prodigiously and his poems are not too deep and open to different interpretations. My favourite poems in this collection were The Colony, The Stoat, The Coasters, A Mobile Mollusc and The Glens. If Hewitt were alive today I'm not sure what he would make of what Northern Ireland has been turned into. Hewitt's Ulster is disappearing and is being replaced by something much harsher and uglier that certainly doesn't inspire poetic thoughts.

I had never heard of John Hewitt (b 1907) before I came across a quotation from him in Chris Patten’s autobiography. He turns out to be an Ulster Protestant whose verse is traditional in form, civilised in tone, and with an apolitical approach to the Troubles: Catholic and Protestant share the land and must act towards each other accordingly. (Something that can’t be emphasised enough in view of the current dispute over the post-Brexit border). He has one poem in Larkins’ Oxford Book of Twentieth Century English Verse, which just about sums up his place in the canon: a minor Hardy or Houseman.

As expected

Beautiful

Great book.

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