Derrybeg and Back offers us a splendid poetic journey from the riven shores of County Donegal to the grit of inner-city America. Along the way we visit churches, airports, schools, half-way houses and more, which John McNamee depicts with a keen eye for local detail. But the many vividly illustrated places to which McNamee takes us evoke another voyage, the journey inward. With a strong sense of justice McNamee negotiates matters of faith, loneliness, longing, and love. McNamee addresses these concerns, experienced by all, with exceptional poignancy, in a delightfully organized collection of poems.

• The Derrybeg Beach
• Derrybeg Evening
• Swan
• The Tailor’s House
• The Dalmatian Coast
• Beauty Captivates the Flesh
• Unitarian Church
• Diner Breakfast
• The Solitary Life
• Counter Companion
• Glasses
• Writing
• Sitting
• Indian Summer
• Breath
• First Light
• River View
• Dancing Colors
• Celibacy Again
• Monastery Visit
• Soup Kitchen
• The Badlands
• Uptown Morning
• Recovery House
• Suburban Courtroom
• Federal Complex
• Sunday Morning
• Give To Everyone
• Fountain
• Bridge
• Korean War Memorial
• Foreign Film
• Technology
• Airport
• Migrant Workers
• The Ides of March
• Ocean Morning
• Builders
• Moods
• Migrations
• Beauty
• On Meeting Dan Berrigan at 30th Street Station
• Devil’s Advocate
• Embedded
• Phil Berrigan’s Funeral Mass Compared to the Air We Breathe
• Ray Kane
• Intercessions
• Local Boy