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The Laughter of Mothers
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The Laughter of Mothers Hardback - 2007

by Paul Durcan

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Reader reviews for The Laughter of Mothers

From the publisher

In this enthralling and personal collection, Paul Durcan celebrates his mother in original and captivating fashion. Sheila MacBride came from a political family--her uncle John MacBride was executed in 1916 for his part in the Easter Uprising--but when she married into the "black, red-roaring, fighting Durcans of Mayo" she was obliged to give up a promising legal career. These poems commemorate his mother as Durcan remembers her: playing golf, reading Tolstoy, and initiating him in the magic of the cinema. He recalls her compassion and loyalty when he was committed to a mental hospital in adolescence and how she endured the ordeal of her old age. In the meantime, Durcan is beguiled by a beggar woman, enraged by a young man picking his nose on the Dublin-Sligo commuter train, and gets into difficulty at the security gate of Dublin airport.

Details

  • Title The Laughter of Mothers
  • Author Paul Durcan
  • Binding Hardback
  • Edition First Edition
  • Pages 131
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Harvill Press, London
  • Publication date 2007-10-23
  • ISBN 9781846550232 / 1846550238
  • Weight 0.6 lbs (0.27 kg)
  • Dimensions 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.8 in (19.81 x 13.21 x 2.03 cm)
  • Category Poetry
  • Dewey Decimal Code 821.914

Media reviews

 • "Paul Durcan's Ireland is the one we inhabit. At times he is ready to celebrate the bizarre and the ordinary; at other times he is full of a surreal rage against both order and disorder." --Colm Toibin, Times Literary Supplement

About the author

Paul Durcan was the recipient of a Cholmondeley Award in 2001 and is the author of more than 20 collections of poems, including "The Art of Life"; "Daddy, Daddy," winner of the Whitbread Award for Poetry in 1990; and "A Snail in My Prime."

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The Laughter of Mothers

The Laughter of Mothers

by Durcan, Paul

  • Used
  • Good
  • Hardback
  • first
Condition
Good
Edition
First Edition
Binding
Hardcover
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9781846550232 / 1846550238
Quantity available
1
Seller
Item price
A$10.48
A$22.07 Delivery to USA

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Description:
Harvill Secker, 2007-10-04. First Edition. hardcover. Good/Acceptable Jacket. 9x7x1. First edition. First impression. The jacket has a chip out of the front. Posted within 1 working day. 1st class tracked post to the UK, Airmail tracked worldwide. Robust recyclable packaging.
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Item price
A$10.48
A$22.07 Delivery to USA
The Laughter of Mothers

The Laughter of Mothers

by Paul Durcan

  • Used
  • Hardback
Condition
Very Good Condition
Binding
Hardcover
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9781846550232 / 1846550238
Quantity available
1
Seller
Item price
A$10.00
A$35.00 Delivery to USA

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Description:
Harvill Secker, London, 2007. Hardcover. Very Good Condition/Very Good. Thank you, O golden mother, / For giving me a life," says Paul Durcan in this brilliant new collection, a poignant tribute to "the first woman I ever knew". Sheila MacBride came from a political family - her uncle John MacBride was executed in 1916 for his part in the Easter Uprising - but when Sheila married into the "black, red-roaring, fighting Durcans of Mayo" she was obliged to give up a promising legal career. These poems commemorate his mother as Paul Durcan remembers her - playing golf, reading Tolstoy, and initiating him in the magic of the cinema. He recalls her compassion and loyalty when he was committed to a mental hospital in adolescence and how she endured the ordeal of her old age. Durcan also muses upon the beauty of Greek women and questions our need for newspapers and the new religion of golf. He is beguiled by a beggar woman, enraged by a young man picking his nose on the… Read more
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Item price
A$10.00
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The Laughter of Mothers

The Laughter of Mothers

by Durcan, Paul

  • Used
  • Very good
  • Hardback
Condition
Very good
Binding
Hardcover
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9781846550232 / 1846550238
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8
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Hardback. Very Good.
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A$19.61
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The Laughter of Mothers (Inscribed Second Printing)

The Laughter of Mothers (Inscribed Second Printing)

by Durcan, Paul

  • Used
  • Near Fine
  • Hardback
  • Signed
  • first
Condition
Near Fine
Edition
1st Edition 2nd Printing
Binding
Hardcover
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9781846550232 / 1846550238
Quantity available
1
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Item price
A$58.87
A$15.36 Delivery to USA

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Description:
Harvill Secker, 2007. 1st Edition 2nd Printing. Hardcover. Near Fine/Near Fine. About the book: Hardcover with jacket. First Edition, Second Printing. Inscribed (see photos) by poet on title page. Both book and jacket are in near fine condition. Additional photos available upon request.
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Item price
A$58.87
A$15.36 Delivery to USA
The Laughter of Mothers
Stock photo: cover may vary

The Laughter of Mothers

by Durcan, Paul

  • Used
  • Good
  • Hardback
Condition
Good
Binding
Hardcover
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9781846550232 / 1846550238
Quantity available
1
Seller
Item price
A$94.44
Free Delivery to USA

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Description:
hardcover. Good. Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items. May be an ex-library book.
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Item price
A$94.44
Free Delivery to USA