If you’re followed The Magical Buffet for a while, you know that I don’t really do poetry on here. Everyone has a different idea as to what constitutes “good” poetry and that opinion becomes even more disparate the more modern the poetry is, at least it appears that way to me. So, when I received an email inquiring as to whether I wished to review “The Book of Celtic Verse: A Treasury of Poetry, Dreams & Visions” edited by John Matthews, I nearly automatically hit delete. Fortunately, I took a second look because John Matthews has put together something special, particularly for those who interests lie with Celtic traditions.
From Matthews introduction, “This collection of Celtic poetry and versecraft spans some 15 centuries and refers to the linguistic group that includes Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Cornwall and Brittany. These areas are deemed Celtic from the fact that the Celts settled in these lands and have remained there, despite several conquests, ever since.” I don’t envy the enormous task Matthews undertook in compiling this book.
In his research Matthews realized the unifying themes in the prose he read and thus compiled “The Book of Celtic Verse” into five parts: Part One: Spells and Incantations (The Poetry of Magic), Part Two: The High Dream of Nature (The Poetry of the Natural World), Part Three: Lovers Under Leaf (The Poetry of Love), Part Four: Warrior and Warlords (War Songs and Praise Poems), and Part Five: Voice of the Spirit (The Poetry of Vision).
“The Book Celtic Verse” is a wonderful book for lovers of Celtic history, poetry, and magic.
Silences by Iolo Aneurin Williams
We glide and are still on the river
In quiet that drugs the wit,
The sun has charmed our hearts
As the day is charmed with it.
And the little owl in the willow –
So passionless, still, we seem –
As little fears our passing
As he fears the passing stream.
The sun has charmed our hearts,
Our sense, to tranquility –
Quiet as weeds in the river
Or the little owl in the tree.
You can learn more here.
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