Rogha Dánta – Selected Poems

Tá Gabriel Rosenstock ar dhuine de na scríbhneoirí is fearr agus is bisiúla atá ag saothrú i ngort na filíochta sa lá atá inniu ann, agus tionchar nach beag aige ar dhomhan litríochta na hÉireann ón gcéad uair a chuir sé peann le pár.  Is duine de ghlúin INNTI é, mar aon le Michael Davitt, Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill agus Liam Ó Muirthile, filí a chas domhan na filíochta Gaeilge ar a cheann.  Tugann an 54 dán sa bhailiúchán seo blaiseadh dúinn de shaothar Rosenstock le 25 bliain anuas, agus a bhuíochas leis na haistriúcháin Bhéarla, ó Paddy Bushe, tá cuireadh ag lucht féachana nua na dánta seo a léamh. 

Sa réamhfhocal le Robert Welch, cuireann sé síos ar fhilíocht Rosenstock mar fhilíocht dhomhanda, nó filíocht de chuid an domhain.  Scríobhann sé: ‘Mar a dúirt Samuel Johnson fadó, leathnaíonn an fhadfhéachaint amach chun staidéar a dhéanamh ar chomharthaí sóirt an chine dhaonna ón tSín go Peiriú: ‘observation ... with extensive view surveys mankind ... ''.  Is léir sracfhéachaint ar liosta theidil na ndánta lena dheimhniú: An Búda / The Buddha, Zenmhachnamh le haill / Zen meditation at a cliff, Mustanbih / Mustanbih, Selbstporträt / Self-portrait agus Billie Holiday /Billie Holiday.  Tá béim sa bhailiúchán seo ar théamaí uilíocha, agus cuirfidh sé le clú Rosenstock mar dhuine de na filí is géarchúisí lenár linn féin. 

Gabriel Rosenstock is one of the finest and most prolific poets of our time and has been a notable force in Irish writing since he first put pen to paper.  He is one of the INNTI generation of poets who revolutionized the world of poetry in Irish, and he counts among his peers Michael Davitt, Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill and Liam Ó Muirthile.  The 54 poems in this book provide an overview of Rosenstock's work over the last 25 years, and the English translations by fellow poet Paddy Bushe make the poetry accessible to a whole new audience. 

In the foreword by Robert Welch he describes Rosenstock's poetry as world poetry.  He writes; ‘Observation here, as Samuel Johnson said, has an ‘extensive view' and ‘surveys mankind, from China to Peru''.  With a list of poem titles that includes
An Búda / The Buddha, Zenmhachnamh le haill / Zen meditation at a cliff, Mustanbih / Mustanbih, Selbstporträt / Self-portrait and Billie Holiday /Billie Holiday, Rosenstock's world view is very evident.  With an emphasis on themes of universal importance, this collection is testament to Rosenstock's status as one of the most insightful poets of our time.