Blind Fireworks

MacNeice’s first book of poetry, Blind Fireworks, appeared in 1929, followed by more than a dozen other volumes, such as Poems (1935), Autumn Journal (1939), Collected Poems, 1925–1948 (1949), and, posthumously, The Burning Perch (1963). An intellectual honesty, Celtic exuberance, and sardonic humour characterized his poetry, which combined a charming…