Pomes Penyeach
 Cover of first edition (Powells ) | |
| Author | James Joyce |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | poetry |
| Publisher | Shakespeare and Company |
Publication date | 1927 |
| Publication place | Ireland |
| Media type | Print (Hardback&Paperback) |
| Pages | 47 |
| ISBN | 978-1-112-86350-9 |
Pomes Penyeachis a collection of thirteen short poems written byJames Joyce.
Overview[edit]
Pomes Penyeachwas written over a 20-year period, from 1904 to 1924, and originally published on 7 July 1927 byShakespeare and Company,for the price of oneshilling(twelve pence) or twelvefrancs.The title is a play on "poems" andpommes(the French word for apples) which are here offered at "a penny each" in either currency. It was the custom for Irish tradespeople of the time to offer their customers a "tilly" (in Irish,tuilleadh) or extra serving – just as English bakers had developed the tradition of the "baker's dozen",offering thirteen loaves instead of twelve. The first poem ofPomes Penyeachis entitled "Tilly" and represents the bonus offering of this penny-a-poem collection. (The poem was originally entitled "Cabra", after theCabra district of Dublinwhere Joyce was living at the time of his mother's death.)[citation needed]
The poems were initially rejected for publication byEzra Pound.[1]Although paid scant attention on its initial publication,[2]this slender volume (which contains fewer than 1000 words in total) has proven surprisingly durable, and a number of its poems (particularly "Tilly", "A flower given to my daughter", "On the beach at Fontana", and "Bahnhofstrasse" ) continue to appear in anthologies to this day.[3]
Pomes Penyeachcontains a number of Joyceanneologisms( "rosefrail", "moongrey" and "sindark", for example) created by melding two words into a new compound. The word "love" appears thirteen times in this collection of thirteen short poems (and the word "heart" appears almost as frequently) in a variety of contexts. Sometimesromantic loveis intended, in tones that vary from sentimental or nostalgic ( "O sighing grasses,/ Vainly your loveblown bannerets mourn!" ) to scathing ( "They mouth love's language. Gnash/ The thirteen teeth/ Your lean jaws grin with" ). Yet at its best Joyce's poetry achieves, like his prose, a sense of vitality and loving compassion. ( "From whining wind and colder/ Grey sea I wrap him warm/ And touch his trembling fineboned shoulder/ And boyish arm. // Around us fear, descending/ Darkness of fear above/ And in my heart how deep unending/ Ache of love!" )
Contents[edit]
The contents ofPomes Penyeachare listed below, with the date and place of each composition:
"Tilly" (Dublin, 1904; originally known as "Cabra" )
"Watching the Needleboats at San Sabba" (Trieste,1912)
"A Flower Given to My Daughter" (Trieste, 1913)
"She Weeps over Rahoon" (Trieste, 1913)
"Tutto è sciolto" (Trieste, 13 July 1914)
"On the Beach at Fontana" (Trieste, 1914)
"Simples" (Trieste, 1914)
"Flood" (Trieste, 1915)
"Nightpiece" (Trieste, 22 January 1915)
"Alone" (Zurich, 1916)
"A Memory of the Players in a Mirror at Midnight" (Zurich, 1917)
"Bahnhofstrasse" (Zurich, 1918)
"A Prayer" (Paris, 1924)
References[edit]
- ^Ellmann, Richard(1959).James Joyce(Revised edition 1983 ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 591.
- ^Ellmann, Richard(1959).James Joyce(Revised edition 1983 ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 593.George Slocombe,who reviewedPomes Penyeachin theDaily Herald,was assured by Joyce that he had the "melancholy distinction" of being the only reviewer.
- ^Heany, Seamus;Hughes, Ted,eds. (1982).The Rattlebag.Faber.Seamus HeaneyandTed Hughes,for example, include "Tilly", "On the beach at Fontana" and "A flower given to my daughter" in their popular anthology,The Rattlebag.
External links[edit]
- Full text ofPomes Penyeach
Pomes Penyeachpublic domain audiobook atLibriVox