Francis Ledwidge's Poetry

Sir, - John Boland (Books, April 18th) is quite wrong when he says that Ledwidge "sanctioned by his early death, went straight…

Sir, - John Boland (Books, April 18th) is quite wrong when he says that Ledwidge "sanctioned by his early death, went straight into myth unbothered by any proper critical consideration". He further implies that the poet's work has never been properly assessed. On the contrary, his work was critically studied, in his lifetime, by such notable writers as Katherine Tynan, Lily Fogarty, Padraic Colum and John Drinkwater. His first book was published before his death and received dozens of tributes. In 1925, Lennox Robinson with the help of W. B. Yeats and AE, edited A Golden Treasury of Irish Verse and included in it no fewer than five of Ledwidge's poems. Since then, his work has appeared in Georgian Poetry, The Oxford Book of English Verse, etc., etc., etc.At a time when we are on the threshold of peace and reconciliation in our country, do we really need such snide remarks as those of Boland when he remarks on this "poet for all sides" and "this man who would have manned the barricades in 1916, but chose instead to fight a greater foe than the Auld Enemy". Such an option did not exist in 1914, when there was no hint of a rebellion. Boland excels himself here, insulting hundreds of Ledwidge admirers countrywide by informing them that their interest has "little to do with literature", but stems from their own political bias. In the Great War, 320,000 Irishmen participated and 49,000 died. Ledwidge was but one of them. His popularity since lies in the fact that he managed to capture in verse the beauty of his homeland - the very thing that Mr Boland claims he did not do.Finally, the reviewer is wrong to dismiss the suggestion that Ledwidge, in part, created the image of the "peasant poet". Although of humble birth, Ledwidge advanced his social standing through a process of self-education. He also, by dint of his own efforts, went from being a farm labourer to secretary of the Meath Labour Union and a member of the Navan Rural Council. When it came to poetry, however, he used the peasant image in order to focus attention. Both AE and Yeats had looked for a new voice among the peasantry. It was this very aspect of the poet being a peasant that caught the attention of the media in 1914. I do not recall anyone ever before comparing Ledwidge to Edward Thomas. In his lifetime he was usually compared to Robert Burns.The book has already received glowing reviews both in America and here, notably by Robert Gracen writing for Books Ireland. These reviewers came to the book with some knowledge of the subject. They offered informed, balanced criticism. They had enough appreciation of the work to enable them to see past the odd misprint or misplaced coma. When Alice Curtayne edited the last collection, she was subjected to similar comments regarding things over which she had no ontrol. There are many good aspects to the present edition, The Complete Poems of Francis Ledwidge (Goldsmith Press) - not least the previously uncollected 66 poems, and the dating and arrangement of the entire collection in chronological order for the first time, the work of years of research. Of course, to appreciate this you must like Ledwidge and it is abundantly clear that Mr Boland, as he "fearlessly" proclaims, does not. - Yours, etc.,Liam O'Meara,Chairman, The Inchicore Ledwidge Society, Emmet Road, Dublin 8.