Chapter 37: Irish Fingerprints

I was sending off a copy of an encyclopedia entry I wrote about 19th century baseball manager Ned Hanlon and noticed something missing from among the other entries in this work. I've likely not seen the entire list of contents, but a work intended to make the Irish more accessible to Americans was missing one of the 20th century's most interesting Irish poets, Thomas Kinsella.

I chose "accessible" purposely, because Kinsella's work is considered to be complex and often dark, yet when I was one of his students back in 1989 in Dublin I thought he was remarkably accessible and even funny. I know that not all my fellow students agreed with me, but to me Kinsella was one of the most interesting writers I'd ever met -- and still is.

I recently re-read one of his most noteworthy books: The Tain Bo Cualigne (The Cattle Raid of Cooley). It is his translation of this epic Irish poem, part of the Ulster Cycle. I'd forgotten how graphic the book is, not only in its descriptions of the killings and beheadings of warriors but also the sex. The Irish of the pagan era were not prudes; there seems to be little worry about people sharing women -- and the women often took the initiative to join the beds of other warriors. If this story were put to film it would have to be rated at least NC-17.

For readers out there with interest in Irish history, strong stomachs, and good senses of humor, I suggest you pick up a copy of The Tain. For me, I'm going to go back to his poetry. The idea of picking it up again is daunting, as he's been writing for half a century and his oeuvre is vast. Yet, somehow I feel there's a reason I'm rediscovering him now.