Derek Mahon, 1941-2020

I was very sad to hear of the death of poet Derek Mahon earlier today, after a short illness.

Here's what The Guardian had to say about him, and here's the story from The Irish Times.

I like an awful lot of his poetry, and if I had to pick a favourite poem of his it would probably be A Disused Shed In Co. Wexford, but you'll probably see that elsewhere, so I thought I'd post a link to the first Mahon poem I can remember reading, The Last of the Fire Kings. Given his Belfast background, and the time of its writing, it's a brave, outspoken statement.