Publisher's Synopsis
Eye of the Hare affirms a spirituality for healing a shattered world. In a richly textured collection, layered with Biblical echoes and the music of the Psalms, John F. Deane explores the possibilities of poetry to redress the failures of care towards the planet and the needs of society. Deane revives the language of sacrament and celebration with raw and tender grace; in sonnets, narratives and lyrics Eye of the Hare advances towards redemption. In the book's final section, Deane honours the places and landscapes of Achill, that beautiful, demanding island off the west coast of Ireland.
Cover Painting Tony O' Malley, Highbourne Cay - Exumas, Bahamas (Tony, Jane, Chris and Jenny Harris, Karen and Timmy Wrinkle), 1986, acrylic on canvas. Reproduced by kind permission of Jane O'Malley.
No other contemporary Irish poet, and few Irish writers, have mastered the art of eloquent, impassioned expression as artistic statement as beautifully as John F Deane. This is a major European writer of conscience... In gravitas, sophistication and magisterial urgency of intent, Deane looks to Kinsella and beyond him to Yeats. Irish Times
I read and re-read the music of John Deane: a fine poet for our lives' divided seasons. Alison Brackenbury, Poetry Review -->
