Wake Forest University Press

01/23/2025

We are incredibly sad to share that Michael Longley has passed at the age of 85. He was one of Ireland's most celebrated poets, and our longtime friend. Wake Forest University Press has worked with Michael for over 40 years, beginning with his Selected Poems 1963–1980 (1981) through Ash Keys: New Selected Poems (2024), published this past July in celebration of his 85th birthday. Our hearts go out to his wife Edna, his children, and grandchildren, for whom he wrote many memorable poems.

This past spring, Michael traveled to New York for what he called "his final US reading." On campus at NYU, he shared poems and stories from throughout his career, including several stunning new poems. But it was perhaps "The Detour," from his 1991 collection Gorse Fires, which took on new resonance that day. For a poem imagining his death, it is brimming with life, and we still hear it in his living voice.

12/13/2024

Poem of the week: "A Diurnal Upon St. Lucy's Day" by David Wheatley.

Today is St. Lucy's Day, and we're celebrating with this gorgeous poem from David Wheatley's most recent collection, Child Ballad (Carcanet Press, 2023; WFU Press, 2024), previously published in The Irish Times in 2019. Read the full poem here: https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/poem-of-the-week-a-diurnal-upon-st-lucy-s-day-1.4080695

12/12/2024

"Consider that it may not be / the most wonderful time of year." Enda Wyley shared some of her favorite Irish poems for the season last night on RTÉ, including "Rudolph" by Sara Berkeley (from Some of the Things I've Seen), "My Father's Hands That Winter" by Paula Meehan (from As If By Magic: Selected Poems), "Christmas Morning" by John Montague (from The Rough Field), and others by Derek Mahon, Kerry Hardie, and Moya Cannon. Listen to the full episode here:

Arena marks the season with a selection of wintry poetry, as chosen by poet Enda Wyley.

11/29/2024

Poem of the week: "Those Days" by Gerard Fanning: https://wfupress.wfu.edu/poem-of-the-week/those-days-by-gerard-fanning/

"Those Days," a poem from Gerard Fanning's final, posthumous collection, Slip Road, contemplates a fading vision, "I used to stand on my porch / and see as far as three days' walk / but those days are long out of reach." Vision, in the poem, is conditioned by the inevitable passage of time; and soon near-sightedness "is what constitutes the matter now." Fanning writes a stunning nostalgia and melancholia into "Those Days," and yet there is still time for "dreaming in the far away / chasing what remains in light."

"Those Days" is included in Collected Poems | Gerard Fanning, available now from Wake Forest University Press: https://wfupress.wfu.edu/books/collected-poems-gerard-fanning/

11/27/2024

Meet the WFU Press Interns! As we approach Thanksgiving and the end of the fall semester, we wanted to introduce our wonderful student interns and thank them for all that they do. Last but not least, meet Melina:

Hey there, I’m Melina Traiforos! I’m a Senior at WFU this year studying English, Journalism, and Marketing Communications. I applied to intern with WFU Press because I’m an avid poetry fan—I subscribe to the Poem-a-Day emails and am writing an Honors Thesis on Emily Dickinson this year. I am also the Editor-in-Chief of 3-4 Ounces, WFU’s student literary magazine. My professional experience lies in journalism and social media marketing, so I’m excited to bring my love of storytelling to the publishing world. When I’m not at the Press, I love thrifting, watching cartoons, and spending all my money at Trader Joe’s.

11/26/2024

Meet the WFU Press Interns! As we approach Thanksgiving and the end of the fall semester, we wanted to introduce our wonderful student interns and thank them for all that they do. Next up, meet Mary:

Hello, I’m Mary Outland! I’m a senior at Wake double majoring in English and history and minoring in sociology. I became interested in publishing at a young age through watching my mother work at LSU Press, and I’d always wanted to learn more about it. I’m from the very small town of Rich Square, NC, and without much to do there growing up, I developed a love for reading. After taking many English and writing classes at Wake, I’m excited to focus more on poetry, and so far I am loving learning more about the marketing side of publishing. Outside of the press, I’m very involved in Wake Forest Club Sailing, and I spend my free time reading, going on walks around Reynolda, and keeping up with both Wake and LSU sports.

11/25/2024

Meet the WFU Press Interns! As we approach Thanksgiving and the end of the fall semester, we wanted to introduce our wonderful student interns and thank them for all that they do. Next up, meet Virginia:

Hi, my name is Virginia Noone, and I’m a senior majoring in Critical & Creative Media with minors in English and Journalism. I’m the prose editor for 3-4 Ounces Literary Magazine, where I read and edit short stories. I’m also the Opinion Editor for the Old Gold & Black and a writer for The Magnolia. I’m originally from West Virginia but moved full-time to Massachusetts during the pandemic, where I recently worked as an editorial intern for Cape Cod LIFE Publications. I love Irish Studies and had taken three semesters of Irish Literature before joining WFU Press! Outside of work, I love reading poetry and books, journaling, and going for long walks in the Reynolda Gardens with my friends. I look forward to reading more Irish poetry this year and working with such an amazing team!

11/24/2024

Meet the WFU Press Interns! As we approach Thanksgiving and the end of the fall semester, we wanted to introduce our wonderful student interns and thank them for all that they do. Next up, meet Paulina:

Hello, I am Paulina Hernandez! As a senior majoring in English literature and minoring in creative writing, my passion for books and storytelling runs deep. My love for reading and writing led me to want to explore the world of publishing, which inspired me to become an intern at WFU Press! Aspiring to see my own novels and short stories in print someday, I believe this internship to be the perfect opportunity to refine my craft and gain insight into the publishing industry! I am excited to immerse myself in this year’s upcoming titles!

11/23/2024

Meet the WFU Press Interns! As we approach Thanksgiving and the end of the fall semester, we wanted to introduce our wonderful student interns and thank them for all that they do. First up, we have Madeline:

Hi there! My name is Madeline Chanfrau (she/her). I am a first-year graduate student at the WFU Masters Program in English and a Graduate Assistant in the University Writing Center. I recently graduated from Davidson College, and before heading to Wake Forest I interned and worked with the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP). Previously, I interned with the Trade Publicity team at W.W. Norton & Company. These experiences, combined with my long-time love of books & reading, led me to intern with the Wake Forest University Press! I am excited to learn more about indie publishing and Irish poetry. When I’m not reading, I love going to Dough-Joe’s and walking through the Reynolda Gardens with a donut & coffee in hand.

11/23/2024

Thanks again to Books Upstairs and Gerard Smyth for hosting the Dublin launch of Collected Poems | Gerard Fanning earlier this month.

Learn more about this book and order your copy on our website today: https://wfupress.wfu.edu/books/collected-poems-gerard-fanning/

11/22/2024

Poem of the Week: "Though the House is Dark" by Gerard Fanning, the final poem from his posthumous collection, Slip Road, published in Collected Poems (2024).

A fitting poem as days get shorter and darker, "Though the House is Dark" was previously published in October 2018 in The Irish Times alongside "The Last Leaf in the Garden" by Frank Ormsby, another great late fall poem. Read both poems here: https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/poems-of-the-week-by-frank-ormsby-and-gerard-fanning-1.3644868

11/21/2024

Thank you to everyone who has placed an order through our website these past couple months. We’re humbled by your support. This fall, whether you’re picking up one of our three new titles or ordering from our backlist, your purchase is making a difference. Wake Forest University Press will donate 20% from all website orders for the months of October and November to The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina. Learn more on our website: https://wfupress.wfu.edu/news/supporting-western-north-carolina-after-hurricane-helene/

11/21/2024

Today’s piece is by the Lawrence O’Shaughnessy Award- and Irish Times Poetry Prize- winning poet Leontia Flynn. Flynn reads with fellow participants and special guests this Friday at Favorite Irish Poems, the opening night event of our festival weekend, and on Saturday at 5pm with Henri Cole.
__
In the municipal pool

In the municipal pool
beside the parenting room
where I go, betimes,
to attend my inner child

water is falling
from the closed communal showers.
Clear, hot, chemical,
moving—utterly free—

steam ascends
to the foam white ceiling tiles.
In the farthest stall
where the drain grids hiss

an Italian woman
is chatting and laughing.
She is what I imagine
Elena Ferrante

might Look like naked:
mature and handsome—
at ease in our world
of women without men.

Clear, hot, chemical,
moving—utterly free,
the waters flow,
are flowing and flown,

as outside sun shines
and history beats
on the roof
of the gynaeceum.
__
From Taking Liberties by Leontia Flynn published by Jonathan Cape. Copyright © Leontia Flynn, 2023. Reprinted by permission of The Random House Group Limited.

11/13/2024

Available now: The Thankless Paths to Freedom by Medbh McGuckian. Learn more and order your copy on our website: https://wfupress.wfu.edu/books/the-thankless-paths-to-freedom/

Conceived in the years between the centenary anniversaries of the 1916 Rising and the establishment of the Northern Irish State in 1921, Medbh McGuckian's newest collection is preoccupied with imprisonment, from the County Down Maze Prison to the sentencing of revolutionary nationalist Constance Markievicz, as violence mingles with a dreamlike glow: “The unintended beauty of this map / of bomb damage.” McGuckian’s familiar angels flutter at the edges of poems alongside images of Mars and the earth-like alternate universe of Kepler452b. An invisible illness haunts many of the poems—“One longs to go to a hospital and have something / cut out.” Written between personal and public histories, based in both borrowings and startling associations, McGuckian continues to craft a singular lyric subjectivity open to the multiplicity of experience:

When I was in my right mind
my body was doing its best without me—
when I say ‘talking to myself’
I mean there are two of me.

—From “The Plume Trade”

10/31/2024

Happy Halloween from WFU Press! Today, we're sharing "For Gomez" from Stephen Sexton's second collection, Cheryl's Destinies. The poems in this book are perfect for the holiday—from fortune tellers and tarot cards to werewolves and The Smashing Pumpkins. "For Gomez" is, as Sexton notes, "in affectionate memory" of actor Raúl Julia (1940–94), famous for his portrayal of Gomez Addams in the two 1990s Addams Family films. This poem captures the character's love of death, the macabre, and, equally, his zeal for life and all its pleasures.

Read the full poem on our website: https://wfupress.wfu.edu/poem-of-the-week/for-gomez-by-stephen-sexton/

10/30/2024

Available now: Lunulae: New & Selected Poems in Translation by Doireann Ní Ghríofa.

In this new North American edition of her poetry, award-winning Irish-language poet Doireann Ní Ghríofa revisits and reworks poems from her previous collections Dúlasair (2012), Oighear (2017), Lies (2018), and To Star the Dark (2021). “This is a lunar collection,” Adam Hanna writes in his introduction, “and its nocturnes partake of the night’s solaces and solitudes… a lunar world that is gravid with moods and premonitions.”

With Lunulae, Wake Forest University Press is thrilled to launch its new Pangur Bán Irish-language series. Edited by Brian Ó Conchubhair and Daniela Theinová, this series celebrates the ways in which Irish-language poets bear witness to a multiplicity of Irish experiences, the rich tradition they create, and their imaginative response to contemporary global culture.

“What makes Ní Ghríofa’s poetry in two languages so vital and compelling,” Adam Hanna concludes in his introduction, “are the new patterns of sounds she creates… Like a starling in a flock, each sound contributes to a fluid, beautiful, ever-changing pattern.”

Learn more and order your copy on our website: https://wfupress.wfu.edu/books/lunulae-new-selected-poems-in-translation/

10/29/2024

We're looking forward to the Dublin launch of Collected Poems | Gerard Fanning at Books Upstairs this Sunday, November 3, at 2 pm. Many thanks to Gerard Smyth for hosting!

“Gerard Fanning produced poems that are among the best written anywhere in the past half-century.” – Colm Tóibín

This Collected Poems gathers the four books Gerard Fanning published during his lifetime—Easter Snow (1992), Working for the Government (1999), Water & Power (2004), and Hombre: New and Selected Poems (2011)—along with his final, unpublished collection, Slip Road, completed shortly before his death in 2017 and published here for the first time. Edited by Fanning’s wife Bríd Ní Chuilinn and poet / novelist Conor O’Callaghan, this collection includes generous contributions from Gerald Dawe and Colm Tóibín, Fanning’s contemporaries and friends, offering context and key insights both for familiar readers and for those new to this remarkable body of work.

10/23/2024

Available now: Collected Poems | Gerard Fanning. Learn more and order your copy on our website: https://wfupress.wfu.edu/books/collected-poems-gerard-fanning/

From his first collection in 1992, Gerard Fanning established himself, in the words of Gerard Smyth, as a poet enduring “almost by stealth … forging a distinctive style that is striking for its originality.” With understated formal elegance, Fanning’s poetry has the cool and control of the Hollywood westerns he admired, dense with allusions to American music and contemporary cinema, and equally attentive to Ireland’s eastern and western seascapes. These are poems which welcome and reward investigation, “where hymn is an amalgam of flutter and whisper, where rhymes / fall in with their echo.”

This Collected Poems gathers the four books Gerard Fanning published during his lifetime—Easter Snow (1992), Working for the Government (1999), Water & Power (2004), and Hombre: New and Selected Poems (2011)—along with his final, unpublished collection, Slip Road, completed shortly before his death in 2017 and published here for the first time. Edited by Fanning’s wife Bríd Ní Chuilinn and poet / novelist Conor O’Callaghan, this collection includes generous contributions from Gerald Dawe and Colm Tóibín, Fanning’s contemporaries and friends, offering context and key insights both for familiar readers and for those new to this remarkable body of work.