An accomplished novelist, short story writer, and playwright, Richard Power (1928–1970) was most well–known for his 1969 novel The Hungry Grass. While many of his stories were published in the leading literary journals of the day, his premature death prevented his work from gaining the fame it deserved. Gathered together for the first time, Power’s subtle and poignant stories capture the daily lives of urban and rural dwellers in Ireland at the turn of the twentieth century. Coming of age, the tensions between tradition and modernity, and romantic love are some of the themes in these beautifully vivid tales. Power explores the interiority of an Irish mother and the thorny navigation of an adolescent girl's coming of age with pathos and humor. This memorable collection, thoughtfully arranged and introduced by James MacKillop, gives new life to an undeservedly neglected writer for fans and scholars of the Irish short story tradition.

Power wrote a mean clean line both in Irish and in English. Although basically a city man, his knowledge of Irish helped him to get under the skin of the country and turn this sympathy to a feeling understanding of both the ordinary and the fragile who populate his fiction.--Alan Titley, award-winning novelist and playwright
A fascinating and vital collection. A joy to read.--Elke D'hoker, author of Irish Women Writers and the Modern Short Story
Richard Power is a gifted stylist whose literary voice shares the eloquent menace of William Trevor.--The Irish Times

Richard Power was born in Ireland. He worked as a civil servant in Dublin and earned an MFA from the Iowa Writers Workshop. He is the author of The Hungry Grass as well as numerous short stories and plays.

James MacKillop is the author of Fionn mac Cumhaill: Celtic Myth in English Literature, and Dictionary of Celtic Mythology, and is coeditor of An Irish Literature Reader: Poetry, Prose, Drama.