Derek Coyle

@derekcoylepoet

Derek Coyle was born in Co. Kildare in 1971. After undergraduate and postgraduate work in English and Theology at Maynooth, he was awarded his Ph.d by the University of Glasgow in 2002. He has published poems and reviews in the U.S., Britain and Ireland. He has been shortlisted for the Patrick Kavanagh Award (2010), the Bradshaw Prize (2011, 2013), and in 2012 he was a chosen poet for the Poetry Ireland ‘Introductions Series’. He has read his poems in museums, galleries and lecture halls in Ireland, Scotland, and the U.S. He published an article on shamanism in Derek Walcott’s ‘The Schooner Flight’, in 'Projections of Paradise' (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2011). He lectures in English Literature and Irish Studies at Carlow College.

120 posts

Niall Ferguson argues that the West is in decline, what he calls 'the great degeneration'; the institutions that made us great, the banks and the law, are stagnating and suffocated. We no longer belong to civil society the way we used to. He is an engaging speaker; still, it is hard not to escape the conclusion that he is something of a tory.

#The great degeneration #Niall Ferguson

Here is a superb tribute to the Greek poet, Constantinos Cavafy. I totally enjoyed this performance of poetry, theatre, literary talk, history lecture.

With André Aciman, Michael Cunningham, Mark Doty, Olympia Dukakis, Craig Dykers (of Snøhetta), Edmund Keeley, Daniel Mendelsohn, Orhan Pamuk, Dimitris Papaioannou, Kathleen Turner.

In celebration of the 150th Anniversary of Cavafy’s birth, we are presented with a stellar line-up of writers, actors, performers, translators and artists to celebrate one of the most original and influential Greek poets, his work, and his legacy.

Described by English novelist, E. M. Forster, as “standing at a slight angle to the universe,” Cavafy has been widely admired for his contemporary use of language, charged with irony, homoeroticism, longing, and deep reflections on history and philosophy.

This highly theatrical evening combined performances, personal and scholarly reflections, onstage interviews, “live translations,” musical numbers, and a live dance performance and video works by Greek choreographer/stage director Dimitris Papaioannou, based on Cavafy’s signature poems.

#Cavafy #Mark Doty #orhan pamuk

An interesting overview of his book, ‘The Great Sea: A Human History of the Mediterranean’ by David Abulafia, Prof. of the Mediterranean at the University of Cambridge.

We forget the Greeks, the Romans, the Egyptians, the Persians all lived, traded and fought around this sea. And later, the Spanish, the Ottomans (Turkey), and most surprisingly of all, the British. I really enjoyed this book, finding out along the way that the Romans came to dominate the sea after the Punic Wars, three major wars fought over a century and a little more; how the British preferred to deal with the Turkish, Muslim, Ottoman court, over that of the Catholic King James of Spain; and how the sea's significance diminished in the face of Atlantic trade by Northern European powers.

David Abulafia, ‘The Great Sea: A Human History of the Mediterranean’ (London: Allen Lane, 2011).

#David Abulafia #the great sea #the mediterranean sea

Here is an interesting interview with David Abulafia, author of ‘The Great Sea: A Human History of the Mediterranean’. Sadly, he talks about the death of this sea, the vital link between three continents for so much of human history, due to overfishing and pollution.

#David Abulafia #the great sea #the mediterranean sea

Nothing like the stirring of Beethoven's music when you need it, the lively Seventh Symphony hits the spot.

#Beethoven #Von Karajan #Seventh symphony

'I met my old lover on the street last night,/She seemed so glad to see me, I just smiled.'

One of the great albums of the1970s, from one of the great songwriters. I bought this one on c.d. during my time in Glasgow in the late 90s. I played it a lot after my first significant heartbreak, it hit the spot, it and Leonard Cohen's track, 'Ain't No Cure for Love.' Ah yes, distant times, another country.

#paul simon #Still Crazy After All These Years #Leonard Cohen

And a more wonderful world it becomes after you have given a Sam Cooke L.P. a spin. The voice of soul itself, the warmth and feeling is distinctive, totally his own. Ironically, he became popular to my generation when 'Wonderful World' became a hit again when chosen for a series of ground-breaking ads by Levi jeans in the late 1980s. I am glad for that. A truly great voice.

#sam cooke #soul music #wonderful world

This might just save you from reading Gombrich's classic, 'The Story of Art', although I can thoroughly recommend you read that great book.

#history of art #the story of art #G. H. Gombrich

I think the photo says it all, really.

#gay kiss #gay love #guys

After giving it several spins over the course of the last week, I like the new album by Kings of Leon, 'Mechanical Bull.' They are a dynamic and energetic ensemble. It is hard not to believe the lead singer, he has a great rock voice. Still, it is hard not to believe that Rock is a little tired. Some of the arrangements and guitar solos sounded familiar. Has it all been done before? I turned to Joseph Haydn, odd as it sounds, for something new to listen to. I enjoyed the melodic early string quartets and pleasant, popular symphonies like 'Surprise', 'The Hen' and 'The Clock.' Nothing like a change, paradoxically discovering the new in the old.

#kings of leon #mechanical bull #joseph haydn

O yes, this business of life is a tough old game, very tough indeed.'

#boys smoking #old Irish photo #black and white photography

Well done to Breda Wall Ryan on her fine poem.

#poetry #Irish poetry #Breda Wall Ryan

'The boy lay down, charmed by the quiet pool,

And, while he slaked his thirst, another thirst

Grew; as he drank he saw before his eyes

A form, a face, and loved with leaping heart

A hope unreal and thought the shape was real.'

Ovid, 'Metamorphoses', trans. by A.D. Melville (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), p. 63.

#benjamin britten #ovid #Narcissus

Here are two images inspired by Ovid's tale of 'Echo and Narcissus.'

'Narcissus now had reached his sixteenth year

And seemed both man and boy, but hard pride

Ruled in that delicate frame, and never a youth

And never a girl could touch his haughty heart.'

Ovid, 'Metamorphoses', trans. by A.D. Melville (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), p. 61.

It is interesting to note how Ted Hughes omits the male interest in Narcissus in his version in 'Tales from Ovid' (1997).

Nicolas Poussin painted his 'Echo and Narcissus' in 1625 -27. English pre-Raphaelite painter, John Waterhouse painted his version in 1908.

#Narcissus #ovid #nicolas poussin

You should learn a new word everyday. My new word is 'revanchism', a word TonyJudt uses very frequently in his history 'Postwar.' Here is an explanation:

Revanchism (from French: revanche, "revenge") is a term used since the 1870s to describe a political manifestation of the will to reverse territorial losses incurred by a country, often following a war or social movement. Revanchism draws its strength from patriotic and retributionist thought and is often motivated by economic or geo-political factors. Extreme revanchist ideologues often represent a hawkish stance, suggesting that desired objectives can be achieved through the positive outcome of another war.

Revanchism is linked with irredentism, the conception that a part of the cultural and ethnic nation remains "unredeemed" outside the borders of its appropriate nation-state. Revanchist politics often rely on the identification of a nation with a nation-state, often mobilizing deep-rooted sentiments of ethnic nationalism, claiming territories outside of the state where members of the ethnic group live, while using heavy-handed nationalism to mobilize support for these aims.

So there you go.

Tony Judt, 'Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945' (London: Vintage, 2010)

#revanchism #Tony Judt #postwar

Could this be a description of Ireland under Fianna Fail:

'Whoever controlled the Italian state was peculiarly well placed to dispense favours, directly and indirectly. Politics in post-war Italy then, whatever their patina of religious or ideological fervour, were primarily a struggle to occupy the state, to gain access to its levers of privilege and patronage. And when it came to securing and operating these levers, the Christian Democrats under Alcide De Gaspari and his successors demonstrated unmatched skill and enterprise.'

Tony Judt, 'Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945' (London: Vintage, 2010), p. 258.

#Tony Judt #Postwar Europe #fianna fail

Here is a really interesting short documentary on the life, engraving career, and poetry of English Romantic poet, William Blake. He is most famous for his collection, 'Songs of Innocence and Experience.' The son of dissenting protestant parents, possibly Baptists, he was home schooled and was always sceptical of authority.

#William Blake #Songs of Innocence and Experience #romantic poetry

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