Seàn Crosson is a PhD graduate from the Centre for Irish Studies in NUI, Galway. He currently teaches courses on Poetry and Music with the centre and also lectures on Irish and international film with the Huston School of Film & Digital Media. He has contributed chapters and articles on Irish literature, and film, to books and journals in Ireland and internationally including Nordic Irish Studies, Estudios Irlandeses: Journal of Irish Studies and e-Keltoi: Journal of Interdisciplinary Celtic Studies. Seàn Crosson, himself a composer and performer, has written a penetrating and nuanced study of the influence of traditional music and song on modern Irish poetry.It is certainly the most thorough exploration of this subject to date, and combines awareness of music with the practice of poetry in an original and compelling way. -- Dr. Riana O'Dwyer, Senior Lecturer, English Department, NUI, Galway. This book makes an original contribution to the field of Irish Studies.

It is particularly impressive in discussing together the normally disparate studies of Irish literature (in both languages), metrics, music and orality studies. the study is clearly well-written in a clean uncluttered style and proceeds with a logic of argument which carries the reader along. -- Professor Alan Titley, Head of Department of Modern Irish, University College Cork. This book draws on a wide range of theoretical perspectives to construct an exploratory inquiry detailing and interrogating previously unarticulated connections between words and music. Despite the breathtaking wealth of referential material, the model that emerges is subtle, nuanced and flexible, handled with the sure and elegant touch of one who is supremely aware of the possibilities of effects at the nexus of these two intertwined media. This pioneering work is sure to herald other studies in this rich field of inquiry, and provides an exemplary model which leads the way with confident assurance. -- Dr. Lillis Laoire, sean-nòs singer and author of On a Rock in the Middle of the Ocean: Songs and Singers in Tory Island (2007).