I confess I couldn’t get particularly excited about Bernard O’Donoghue’s The Seasons of Cullen Church; in the main the poems felt a little insipid and insignificant, and the topics lacked a certain relevance (not being Irish, nor religious, nor knowing some of the people referenced). But they should still work for all of that.
However, I did like ‘Procne’ and ‘The Raven’s Portion’.
Perhaps the whole collection would be better served by a second and much closer/slower reading. Of course, if you’re a O’Donoghue fan then you’ll disagree with my sweeping assessment vehemently – which is just fine and dandy…
Ian Gouge - Writer 