Séamus Ruttledge is a poet originally from Knockmore, Ballina, whose poetry has been lauded by two Mayo literary luminaries, poet, Terry McDonagh, from Kiltimagh and Louisburgh’s award-winning writer, Mike McCormack.
Séamus has just published his latest book of poetry, Jackdaws Chant The Blues, which celebrates West of Ireland life with a mixture of evocative imagery and humour.
His poetry is inspired by his love of the natural environment around him as he reflects on his own place in an increasingly dysfunctional world.
Séamus’s poetry comes to life through deeply personal reflections; and pithy commentaries on the hubris of modern Ireland, beautifully composed in their honesty and skillfully delivered with satire and humour.
One of my favourites from his collection is Arragha Musha, a timely, satirical reflection on the current state of a self-satisfied ‘official’ Ireland.
Keep the céad míle fáiltes
Keep the míle buíochas
As sincere as the value
Of tourist beds and tourist dollars
Séamus has kindly allowed me to publish one of the poems entitled, I Write, which bookends his collection. The beauty of poetry is that the poet speaks to us all as individuals and our interpretation of the poet’s lyricism is personal, sometimes opening our eyes to new perceptions of the world around us.
For this writer, I Write resonates as a reflection on life, set against the timeless wonder of a new day dawning in which nature reveals a song-filled, magical beauty; the simple joys of a misty Mayo morning offering a passing refuge from the empty vessel noise and hubris that has infected so much of human life through rampant commercialism, amoral social media and the inane cult of celebrity.
I WRITE
I write in ignorance
Without purpose or esteem,
I write to listen
To hear silence speak.
I write at dawn
When birds sing
And the land in Mayo
Crawls out from under a mist.
I write in melancholy
To feel humility
And know another
In that same place.
I write in confusion
Waiting for redemption
Swimming against strong currents
Tasting salt water.
© Séamus Ruttledge
Poet and writer Terry McDonagh says: “Jackdaws Chant The Blues celebrates country life with evocative imagery and at times humour, through poems like No Flowers Please, Winter Is Nearly Done, and In Times Of Change. Ruttledge expertly uses the ways of country life as a prism to explore conflict, nature, and mystery.”
Mike McCormack, winner of the International Dublin Literary Award 2018, is equally impressed.”Ruttledge’s poems come straight from a heart full of truthful songs. With grace and melody, they sing us through past and present, love and loss, towards some greater understanding of who we are.”
Where To Buy
Jackdaws Chant The Blues is available from Pangur Ban Bookshop, Garden Street, Ballina. From Seamus Duffy’s and McLoughlinn’s Bookshop, in Westport. It is also available, in-store and online, from Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop, Galway, and Books ‘n’ More, Tuam.
