Estudios Irlandeses (Mar 2013)
‘Flirting with International Socialism’: Love, Politics and Intertextuality in the Poetry of Gerry Murphy
Abstract
After almost three decades writing poetry, Gerry Murphy has attained a place as one of the most popular, idiosyncratic and unconventional contemporary Irish poets. His voice is certainly unique in Irish poetry, as regards the content, form and sarcastic tone of his poems. This “extraordinary juggler of conflicts”, as poet Thomas McCarthy (2010) defines him, has indeed provoked controversy in some circles. One funny anecdote of his many literary performances includes his reading of “A Note on the Demise of Communism” in front of the Dean and 600 Chinese students in Fudan University (Shangai), and the troubling expectancy this event arose before finding out that it was just a love poem after all. The purpose of this paper is to provide an introductory critical perspective on Gerry Murphy. First, I will discuss the cluster of themes which dominate his work, by particularly focusing on the predominant sensual eroticism and the awkward, almost uneasy, interplay of love and politics observed in much of his poetry. Other elements of analysis will include Murphy’s frequent use of dramatic monologue, his literary influences, the stylistic variety of his work, and the use of sarcasm as a very powerful means of exerting criticism.
