SOURCE: Donnelly, Brian. “The Poetry of Derek Mahon.” English Studies 60, no. 1 (February 1979): 23-34.

In the following essay, Donnelly suggests that Mahon's poetic talent lies in his ability to merge lightness with serious subjects and technical and formal brilliance. Donnelly emphasizes Mahon's strong control of his poetic voice and skillful use of verse forms, rhyme, pacing, and the sound of the language.

With three published volumes of poetry behind him—Night-Crossing (1968), Lives (1972), The Snow Party (1975)¹—Derek Mahon has now clearly emerged as one of the most talented of the present generation of Northern Ireland poets. Indeed, in the wider context of English poetry of the last ten years, his work has retained qualities that looked increasingly likely to disappear with Auden's death—qualities of wit and wry humour in poems that reveal a lively and quirky intelligence. He has early shown a technical mastery in poems where humour and...