Edited sentence: Eschewing the torturous attempts at formal education in a religious setting, self taught, he came to know and love literature through reading  Russian, French and Irish classics; his early poetic work shows influences of Gaelic folk poetry while his later poetry reflects more international rhythms and themes.Growing up during the time of the Spanish Civil war, under the shawl of his mother’s Republican politics, Galvin later discovered his affinity with the Granadian poet, Federico García Lorca; those influences are especially marked in his epic poem ‘The White Monument’.His work draws on and reflects his experiences in his native Cork, but is not limited or constrained by them