MONTAGUE

answering his “appeal in the TLS, I feel I should drop you a note about Ewart Milne (already, a strange name, not particularly Irish, and more generally associated with A.A.). I was introduced to his work by Valentin Iremonger, one of our Civil Service then diplomat poets, who was involved in a vaguely left theatre group in Dubline so I know some of the earlier work, including the fine ‘Vanessa’. Ewart came back to Dublin the in the late Fifties after a long time abroad, as a sailor, perhaps, something distant and glamorous; he was rumoured to be a Communist, certainly a Socialist. He was a familiar enough figure around town, with his shock of white hair, and, of course, he was continually writing to the papers. But I don’t think he found the atmosphere invigorating: Kavanagh was King of the Kids and the new generation - Kinsella, myself, Richardd Murphy - were too absorbed in their very growth to pay much heed. But he was generally liked; a particular disciple was a very young poet, Richard Culver, who lives in, I think, Blessington, but doesn’t write any more. I am writing far from books but we had a bit of a ding-dong when I reviewed his work for ‘The Spectator’s the Hutchinson volume. He didn’t like my tone and our correspondence ground to a halt although I included two of his poems in the Faber Book of Irish Verse... his generation in Ireland, Kavanagh obviously, but John Lyle Donaghy (1902-1946), Patric MacDonagh (1902-61), Brian Coffry (b. 1905)... were a gifted lot; Beckett, MacNeice, Hewitt, Devlin and Fallon being well known. Then he was not a University man, like most of the above. I don’t know if you have a publisher but when I get back I’ll try to uproot some of his letters...”, 2 sides A4, Schull, Ballydehob, Cork headed paper from 216 Rue St. Jacques, Paris 75005, April