What the Curlew Said: "Nostos" Continued [Hardcover]

"'Every household in Ireland should have a copy of this magical book. I am indulging in no idle hyperbole when I say that this autobiography is one of the most remarkable autobiographies I have ever read in my entire life.' - PAUL DURCAN 'In Nostos Moriarty has surpassed all his previous achievements. Because it is in the recording of his life, that his passionate imagination finally makes sense, and here he has recorded his life expansively and clearly and movingly. It is written in exquisite Irish - English, it's a unique voice, and it sings through in every page of a beautifully made book.' - MICHAEL HARDING, Sunday Tribune 'Here is a larger-than-life book from a larger-than-life life. The autobiography becomes a treasure trove of quotations, of poems and stories, of myths and legends, all tending towards an understanding of where we come from, who we are, and where we ought to be going. The patient reader of this book will warm to a generous spirit, to a mind and body devoted to healing the ills of the present by pointing to the past. The dull and dulling events of the life of a man intent on understanding are brought alive in this huge achievement in such a way that will move you with a belief that humanity has a meaning and relevance that can yet beautify our egotistical and polluted world.' - JOHN F. DEANE, Irish Independent"

This extra-ordinary work of autobiography concludes the story of John Moriarty's life in Connemara during the 1980s and the return to his native Kerry. He relates the particularities of his time at Toombeloa, Roundstone and environs, where he worked restoring gardens and building his own house. He describes his adopted family and the children of the household, with sorties to Dublin for Christmas; his neighbourhood and community; the writer Tim Robinson; returned pine martens, the fish and flora of a historic landscape; a lecture tour in Canada, organized by his former students; his engagement with the immensities of the natural and spiritual worlds. He calls to account the literatures and legacies of European thought made manifest in the western extremities of Ireland as they bear witness to his own inner and outer journey, now documented in this compelling and writerly masterwork.

John Moriarty is author of Dreamtime (1994), the trilogy Turtle Was Gone a Long Time: Crossing the Kedron (1996), Horsehead Nebula Neighing (1997) and Anaconda Canoe (1998), Nostos, An Autobiography (2001), Invoking Ireland (2005), Night Journey to Buddh Gaia (2006) and Serious Sounds (2007).