Ulster's civic strife. In such poems as “The Idea in History” and “Man with Hookah,” Paulin celebrates the diversity of world cultures and praises the grace of imaginative expression.The Liberty Tree (1983)—which contains selections from a previous volume The Book of Juniper (1981)—addresses aspects of Irish cultural identity and laments the contradictions of Ulster Protestantism. The metaphorical and imaginative quality of the collection is enhanced by Paulin's use of Ulster dialect and Irish arcana, suggesting both regional and mythic dimensions as well as a corresponding richness and depth. Paulin's satirical voice, alternately vehement and warm, also reveals the poet's progressive sense of imaginative freedom and his deepening attention to contemplation and vision. Fivemiletown, which some have argued marks the maturation of Paulin's poetic voice, explores the tensions between artistic vision and the force of history, specifically the political realities imposed by Ulster Protestantism. Fivemiletown expresses the isolation and frustration of such conditions in alliterative and loosely punctuated lines, incorporating both literary and vernacular references. The collection also draws broadly upon historical events, Masonic symbolism, European philosophy, and intimate personal experiences. Walking a Line, whose title alludes to artist Paul Klee, uses atypical typography and lyrical, open-ended verse to further examine the conflicting worlds of art and politics. Unlike Paulin's earlier work, which tended to be polemical, the poems in Walking a Line indulge in ambiguity and linguistic playfulness that acknowledges both the delight of artistic creation and the inescapable burden of history and social specificity. Paulin's next poetry collection, The Wind Dog (1999), similarly evinces an interest in the vibrancy and sensuousness of language, this time aligned with the highly imaginative art of Marc Chagall. The Invasion Handbook (2002), the first installment in a projected sequence of poems devoted to World War II, deals with European history from the Treaty of Versailles, which ended World War I, to the Battle of Britain during World War II. In this volume, Paulin presents a mosaic of verse and prose-like fragments that draw upon a large cast of historical figures and anecdotes—famous, obscure, and imaginary—in language that is steeped in the vernacular and literary allusion.

Paulin's critical works, Ireland and English Crisis (1984) and Minotaur: Poetry and the Nation State (1992), offer elaborations of his interest in the political dimension of artistic expression. Ireland and the English Crisis addresses the provincialism and contradictory allegiances that divide Ireland against itself and against England. In such essays as “English Now” and “A New Look at the Language Question,” Paulin discusses the creation of a nonsectarian Northern Irish republic, the history of the English literary canon, and the ways in which writers respond to political issues. Minotaur contains studies of various poets, from Christina Rossetti to W. B. Yeats, in which Paulin evinces his distrust of state authority and nationalism. He draws connections between each poet's unique worldview and the culture of their era, displaying the universality in poetic themes throughout the ages. Paulin turned his attention to the nineteenth-century English writer and journalist William Hazlitt in The Day-Star of Liberty: William Hazlitt's Radical Style (1998), a revisionary critique that champions Hazlitt as an underrated genius with Unitarian roots and a singular prose style. Paulin has also composed modern adaptations of two Greek tragedies for the Field Day Theatre Company: The Riot Act, a reinterpretation of Sophocles's Antigone, and Seize the Fire, a reinterpretation of Aeschylus's Prometheus Bound. In these plays, Paulin establishes parallels between the classic Greek myths and modern social issues—for example, in The Riot Act, King Creon's misuse of state power is compared to Great Britain's colonial rule of Ireland. Additionally, Paulin has edited two notable anthologies, The Faber Book of Political Verse (1986), which contains diverse examples of English, Irish, Scottish, American, and East European political verse, and The Faber Book of Vernacular Verse (1990), a collection of English poetry from William Shakespeare to D. H. Lawrence which displays how vernacular dialect and informal syntax has been used throughout the ages to subvert hegemonic Standard English.

Critical Reception

Recognized as one of Northern Ireland's foremost poets, Paulin has been consistently praised for the intelligence, political engagement, and ambition of his verse. Although Paulin has frequently been connected with the “Ulster Poet” tradition, critics have argued that, unlike the works of Seamus Heaney and Paul Muldoon, his forthright political convictions serve as the dominant characteristic of his work and artistic persona. While his collections A State of Justice and The Strange Museum have attracted a positive overall critical response, Fivemiletown has been generally regarded as Paulin's most significant and successful poetic work. Though some have faulted Paulin's early verse as mere political diatribe, others have cited his later works—particularly Walking a Line and The Invasion Handbook—as examples of Paulin's increasingly imaginative and historically expansive poetic vision. However, the complexity of Paulin's work, most notably his incorporation of unfamiliar Irish dialect and obscure historical references, has caused several reviewers to label his verse as obtuse and hermetic. In addition, Paulin's politically-opinionated authorial voice, though frequently praised in his poetry, has often polarized the readers of his critical writings. While his supporters have approved of his radical dissent and rejection of state-sponsored aesthetics, his detractors have asserted that Paulin's analytical skills are marred by anger and accusatory rhetoric. Despite such misgivings, most critics have noted Paulin's ability to provide unique and incisive analysis of canonic literary works. His study of William Hazlitt in The Day-Star of Liberty has been well received by scholars and academics as a significant work of cultural recovery.