66 pages / 6.00 x 9.00 inches / no illustrations
Philosophy / Metaphysics | Poetry / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh | Poetry / Death, Grief, Loss
The Professor of Forgetting, a new collection from the acclaimed Irish poet Greg Delanty, swings back and forth on the fulcrum of what we call “now” and confronts our notion of how time passes. From the very first poem, “Going Nowhere Fast,” which ponders whether we are now here or going nowhere, to the final selection, from which the book takes its self-reflective title, these exuberant poems chronicle what it means to be human with joy, pathos, honesty, despair, sorrow, celebration, and wit. Structurally diverse in form, the poems also explore a range of poignant topics, including childhood, family, love, racism, the natural world, immigration, and the unavoidability of death. Often humorous, Delanty’s poetry finds ways of coping with the challenges of life, as it makes lasting art out of heartbreaking difficulty and experience.
Greg Delanty was born in Cork City, Ireland, and maintains dual citizenship in Ireland and the United States, where he has lived since 1986. He is the author of No More Time and Book Seventeen, among many other poetry collections, and he has received numerous awards for his work, including a Guggenheim Fellowship. He teaches at Saint Michael’s College in Vermont.
“A true poet.”—Christopher Ricks, Guardian
“Everywhere he unleashes unbounded energy and upbeat cheer.”—F. D. Reeve, Poetry
“Delanty writes poems that are wordily appealing in the way that Hopkins or late Auden appeal.”—Peter Reading, Times Literary Supplement
“The poet laureate of the contemporary Irish-in-America. Delanty has catalogued an entire generation and its relationship to exile. He is the laureate of those who have gone.”—Colum McCann, Irish Times
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