Collected Poems

Collected Poems is vital…and reminds us that Longley is not only a lyric poet of the first rank, but a clear-sighted observer who knows the real world when he sees it, even as he knows that it cannot be grasped, only celebrated, or interrogated, or mourned - which is to say, given its due - as it passes – John Burnside * Irish Times *

A wonderfully capacious book, at once stringent and delicate

– Andrew Motion * Observer Books of the Year *
Of the modern writers who deal with conflict, I believe Michael Longley, whose father fought in the First World War, is the greatest figure we have. I carry his work with me to the war zones of the world – Fergal Keane * The Times *
An essential book for anyone interested in poetry * Times Literary Supplement *
Michael Longley’s Collected Poems brings together in one beautifully designed volume the work of this marvellous poet, reminding us, if we needed reminding, of the authority of his voice and the beauty of his line – John Banville * Irish Times Books of the Year *
[A] gravely beautiful book - the record of four decades of a practice which has helped keep lyric poetry in English both necessary and alive – Fiona Sampson * Poetry Review *
In his truest and most enduring poems, Longley manages, in Yeats’ words, to hold justice and reality in a single thought without doing violence to either. The many poems in which Longley succeeds in this aim are among the great poems of our time – David Wheatley * Guardian *
Michael Longley is a lyric poet with perfect pitch. His formal elegance seems effortless…he is a master in an old, great tradition – Elaine Feinstein * The Times *
Michael Longley’s Collected Poems delineate a 40-year achievement whose scale can now be appreciated – Roy Foster * Irish Times Books of the Year *