I've been an admirer of his poetry for many years now
and an avid reader of it.
And I'm very glad that I'm here to introduce him to you.
He was born in Dublin in the year 1928.
And by a very pleasant coincidence, so was I.
[LAUGHTER]
We have agreed that it was a vintage year.
[LAUGHTER]
If you think of Mr. Thomas Kinsella as an Irish poet,
I would like you to put all sorts of shamrocks
firmly out of your head.
He is only an Irish poet insofar as he is an Irish man.
He is firmly in the mainstream of modern poetry.
And he's not in any backwater, you can believe me.
It gives me very much pleasure indeed
to introduce Mr. Thomas Kinsella.
[APPLAUSE]