Cirrus@Austlit

'The title of this paper caused me a lot of trouble. I thought the one I settled on was brilliant, but unfortunately, when I came to write the paper to go with it, I found difficulty in making a match. For a while it seemed that my search was leading only to a Celtic sunset. However,it did give me a reason to traipse around Wales and Ireland and Scotland and the Canadian Maritimes, even if in Ireland and Scotland the sun I was seeking neither rose nor set, but remained resolutely hidden beneath mists and clouds. I gathered a fair amount of history on my journeying, and the full version of this paper uses this to provide a context for the cultural differences I located in the poetry. There is, however, no time to go into this analysis of the contrasting histories of settlement, and of the distinct economic, political and religious circumstances in the countries of origin. Instead I will ask that you take those matters as given while I concentrate mainly on poets whose work demonstrates the cultural differences that arose from these circumstances.' (Author's introduction, 37)