Juan-y-Pherick’s Journey and Other Poems
Front cover
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| Author | W. Walter Gill |
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| Country | Isle of Man |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Poetry |
| Publisher | Louis G. Meyer, Douglas, Isle of Man |
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Publication date
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1916 |
| Media type | Print (paperback) |
| Pages | 38 pp |
Juan-y-Pherick's Journey and Other Poems is a 1916 collection of poems by W. Walter Gill. The book was published by Yn Çheshaght Gailckagh, the Manx Society, and is Gill's only collection. It is a significant contribution to the literature of the Isle of Man, as there are few other individual poetry collections from this period.
At the time of the books' release, Gill was serving as a private in active service in World War I. The release was conceived of partly as an extension of Manx literature and culture, being, as it was, the only poetry collection released by the Manx Society other than William Cubbon's selection, A Manx Poetry Book. But it was also used as a fundraiser for the war effort, as was announced at its release:
"The book is issued with the object of earning money wherewith the Manx Society may be enabled to send music, reading matter and comforts to Manx soldiers and sailors on active service or in training, and to that purpose the gross receipts from sales will be devoted."
The book contained 31 poems, seven of which had appeared in print before: ‘Lament of the Mother Tongue’ and ‘The Ould Times’ in Mannin (Volumes I and V), and 'Friends', 'Vespers', 'A Fancy', 'To an Exile', 'Exile to Exile' and 'Lament of the Mother Tongue' in A Book of Manx Poetry edited by William Cubbon. Two of the poems were based on others' work; 'Inscription for a Crucifix' is a translation of Victor Hugo, and 'Lament of the Mother Tongue' is a verse version of W. J. Cain's literal translation from the Manx of William Kennish's 'Dobberan Chengey ny Mayrey' which was first published in 1840.
The poems are predominantly pensive or melancholic in mood, with winter or night as recurring settings or themes for nearly half of the collection. Other key themes include nature and the landscape, home and exile, and a foreboding of mortality. In contrast to other poetry and writing from the Isle of Man at this time, Gill's collection is striking for its relative absence of overt nationalism or sentimentality. This was commented on questioningly in a review in Mannin, the journal of The Manx Society, upon the book's release in 1916:
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