The Ledwidge Treasury - Selected Poems

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Written by Francis Ledwidge

Wednesday, 25 July 2007

Born in poverty in Slane, Co. Meath, Francis Ledwidge worked as a farm hand, copper miner and road labourer. In his twenties he was to become a rising star on the Irish literary scene, although he lived only to see one collection of his verse in print, receiving his author's copy while freezing and on starvation rations in Serbia.

Although a staunch Irish Nationalist, Ledwidge chose to fight in the First World War, where he dies - just short of his thirtieth birthday - in the nightmare third battle of Ypres. With an introduction to the poems by Seamus Heaney and extended afterword by Dermot Bolger, who looks at his life and legacy, this new treasury serves as a fitting tribute to one of the most tragic Irish poets of the twentieth century.

This new selection of poems by Francis Ledwidge captures the lyric grace of a remarkably gifted poet who today, 90 years after his death, is perhaps best known for the brilliance of many of his poems and for the tragic circumstances of his death. The Ledwidge Treasury - Selected Poems by Francis Ledwidge is currently available online in hardback format at www.kennys.ie for €16.95.

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