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Irish American Poetry
Irish American poetry is written by Americans of Irish heritage. This type of poetry is influenced by both the traditional values of the Irish and individual values of Americans. Irish American poetry is known for its merging or crossing cultural boundaries since instead of having one set style and form of either Irish poetry or American poetry, it founded a new compound identity by combining traits from each genre of poetry. (Kennedy-Andrews 9-10). Northern Irish poetry is distinct from Irish poetry due to conservative political meanings.

Ireland has rich Gaelic and Celtic culture, which often appears in its modern poetry. Alternatively, American poetry is known for original interpretation of incorporating different cultures in communication. Furthermore, American poetry reflects independence and individual vision more so than having a collective value. (Kennedy-Andrews 11).

Notably, poetry from Northern Ireland remained consistent with the tradition of form found in much of British poetry given the loyalist leanings of many writers. Characteristics of the form that Northern Irish poetry obtains includes a focus on looking to the past for guidance, valuing the rural dialect, as well as upholding literary history, place, and community. (Kennedy-Andrews 11). Because of the traditional culture of Northern Ireland, Irish poetry is nationalistic compared to American poetry, which is more modern; furthermore, adding a new aspect that is centered around the Irish land as a whole. (Kennedy-Andrews 1). Since Northern Irish poetry values tradition in their literature, they also pull from historical events such as the world wars and political obstacles. Literature, especially poetry, will teeter between various ideologies as they move through time. (Kennedy-Andrews 9-10).

Major Poets
William Butler Yeats and Seamus Heaney are among the best known modern Irish poets. While Yeats’ poetry is transcendental, spiritual, and realistic, Heaney’s poetry stemmed through story-telling. Among some of the best known Irish American poets is F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Boyle O’Reilly, Lucy Grealy, and James T. Farrell. On the other hand, well known female Irish American poets show the grandmother and the rebel lover as figures that appear consistently in their poetry. Tess Gallagher, Kathy Callaway, Mary Swander, Ethna McKiernan and Renny Golden; all of which reflect their individual desires through their poetry. Here, there is also a contradictory theme of both breaking free from assigned roles and remaining within their roles. (Monaghan 3).

Unique Qualities
In Irish American poetry, there is a strong sense of dialect in the vocabulary. This dialect was influenced heavily from the Scots and Gaelic and it provides for a unique articulation of the message that the poet is trying to convey to his or her audience. As a result of Irish American poetry’s unique form of depicting life, the merging of two types of values pushed against polarization from the 1920s and 1970s. One of the values that the Irish upholded was their native tongue. Many learned how to speak Gaelic because they did not want to speak the same language as their oppressors, which was English. This same attitude was carried over with them to the United States, thus influencing the dialect and tone of Irish American poetry. Irish American poetry used creative expression through a hybrid, transgressive tone, thus, connecting a collective human experience by playing with a variety of meanings and the effects that the audience would take from it. (Kennedy-Andrews 9-10).