The One That Got Away

Nominated for the Crashaw Prize, The One That Got Away is the debut collection from former Listowel prizewinner, Graham Allen. Professor of English at University College Cork, Graham Allen's poetry has appeared Southword, Other Poetry, The Stinging Fly, The Rialto, Poetry Ireland Review, Revival, La Questione Romantica, The SHOp, Theory and Event, Cultural Politics and Cyphers.His texts for stage have been performed by Gatekrash Theatre Company at the Stack Theatre, Cork School of Music, at the Comedy Club, Cork, and at the Cork Midsummer Festival in 2008.Graham Allen's critical works include Harold Bloom: Towards a Poetics of Conflict (1994), Intertextuality (2000 and 2011), Roland Barthes (2003), The Salt Companion to Harold Bloom, co-editor with Roy Sellars (2007), Mary Shelley (2008) and The Reader's Guide to Frankenstein (2008). His work has been translated into Japanese, Korean and Persian.Renowned critic, Harold Bloom, offers praise for The One That Got Away:This new work is a throwback to the High Romantics. It is haunted by Blake, Shelley, and Keats, and is a worthy continuation of their magnificent tradition.I am particularly moved by the poem To Geoffrey Hill, who indeed is much the best living British poet. I think I would call Graham Allen what he accurately terms Geoffrey Hill, a mournful vitalist.Should Graham Allen continue to leap ahead of himself like this, he may yet achieve permanence as a poet. -- Harold Bloom