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Soul of Wit, The
Some Poems
McInerny, Ralph
Poems written in what, in the debased coin of chronology, can be called the golden years are not like those written in youth. In earlier volumes, Ralph McInerny has proved that Belloc has no equal in light verse (An Abecedary) and that the Bard cannot be approximated (Shakespearian Variations). In his latest collection, The Soul of Wit, he tries his hand at a variety of forms, preferring the formal comfort of more demanding prosody.
Memory, distant and near, is the great catalyst of these poems. One will find poems dealing with a long ago boyhood, with prep-school days, with early marriage, and with the joys and sorrows that accompany anyone on the long journey from the womb. Socrates, awaiting execution, devoted himself to the writing of verse, obeying what he took to be the god’s command. The execution of these poems lays no claim to divine imperatives nor will they, deo volente, be prelude to the execution of their author.
Author of over 100 books, including the popular Father Dowling and Monica Quill mystery series, Ralph McInerny is Michael P. Grace Professor of Philosophy at Notre Dame and Director of the Jacques Maritain Center.