Tried and Sentenced

Selected Poems

A series of meditations on love and pain, Tried and Sentenced draws on acclaimed collections from Raven Press and New Island Books. On The Year of the Knife "Things that please me in poetry are precision, compassion and images that surpass the common run of language; also that the poet must have an ear for language as a musician has an ear for music. The work of Philip Casey, especially The Year of the Knife, possesses all of these in abundance." - Michael Hartnett "The splendour of Philip Casey's work is that it is rigorous and hard; and somehow also at the same time bright and kind. It's this unique mixture that sets him apart." - Sebastian Barry "Casey writes in a language which is supple, accurate, sensitive and immensely strong."- Roz Cowman "Casey gives physicality to abstract ideas with great assurance and he has an eye for things which do not clamour for attention. There are fine new love poems, and older ones which have benefited from fresh work."- Susan McKay "In whatever mood, the writer's gaze is clear-eyed, observant, unflinching in the face of pain and the awareness of mortality." - Hugh McFadden "Before he was known to readers as a world class fictionist, Philip Casey gave us poems. On the evidence of Dialogue in Fading Light, he remains always and ever a poet of great powers. The wonder and longing, gratitude and grace that inform this work make us grateful for Casey's many gifts." -Thomas Lynch "If readers need a reminder of what language can do, how it can be rescued from the spin-doctors and made new and enthralling, they need look no further than this superb collection." - Joseph O'Connor