Micheal O'Siadhail ( ; born 12 January 1947) is an Irish

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

. He studied at

Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...

(TCD) and the University of Oslo. He has been a lecturer at TCD, a professor at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, and has been a full-time writer since 1987. He has received several awards, including the Irish American Culture Institute Prize for Poetry in 1982, the Marten Toonder Prize for Literature in 1998, and the Eric Hoffer Book Award in 2020.

Early life

Micheal O'Siadhail was born into a middle-class family in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. His

father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. A biological fat ...

, a chartered accountant, was from

County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of Border Region, Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town ...

, and his mother was from Dublin, with roots in

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

. At age twelve, O'Siadhail attended the Jesuit boarding school

Clongowes Wood College Clongowes Wood College SJ is a Catholic voluntary boarding school for boys near Clane, County Kildare, Ireland, founded by the Jesuits in 1814. It features prominently in James Joyce's semi-autobiographical novel '' A Portrait of the Artist ...

, an experience he later described in his poetry. At age thirteen, he visited the

Aran Islands The Aran Islands ( ; , ) or The Arans ( ) are a group of three islands at the mouth of Galway Bay, off the west coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with a total area around . They constitute the historic barony (Ireland), barony of Aran in ...

, an experience he stated had a significant impact on him.

Career

Micheal O'Siadhail studied at

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

from 1964 to 1984, where his teachers included notable authors David H. Greene and

Máirtín Ó Cadhain Máirtín Ó Cadhain (; 20 January 1906 – 18 October 1970) was one of the most prominent Irish language writers of the twentieth century. Perhaps best known for his 1949 novel , ÓCadhain played a key role in reintroducing modernist literatur ...

. There he was elected a Scholar of the College and received a

First Class Honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure used for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied, sometimes with significant var ...

degree. His circle at Trinity included David McConnell,

Mary Robinson Mary Therese Winifred Robinson (; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who served as the president of Ireland from December 1990 to September 1997. She was the country's first female president. Robinson had previously served as a senato ...

, and David F. Ford. O'Siadhail then received a government exchange scholarship, going on to study folklore and Icelandic at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

. He considers

Scandinavian literature Scandinavian literature or Nordic literature is the literature in the languages of the Nordic countries of Northern Europe. The Nordic countries include Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway (including Svalbard), Sweden, and Scandinavia's associate ...

a major influence on his work. O'Siadhail worked in academia for seventeen years, first as a

lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

(1969–1973), where he was awarded an MLitt in 1971, and then as a research professor at the

Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) () is a statutory independent research institute in Dublin, Ireland. It was established, under the Institute For Advanced Studies Act 1940, by the government of the then Taoiseach, Éamon de Vale ...

. During these years, he gave named lectures in Dublin, as well as at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

and

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

. As an academic, O'Siadhail published his works on the

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

of Irish and a textbook for learners of Irish. He was a visiting professor at the

University of Iceland The University of Iceland ( ) is a public research university in Reykjavík, Iceland, and the country's oldest and largest institution of higher education. Founded in 1911, it has grown steadily from a small civil servants' school to a modern co ...

from 1982 until 1987 when he resigned from his professorship to write

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

. He was a member of the Arts Council of the Republic of Ireland (1987–1993) and a member of the Advisory Committee on Cultural Relations (1989–1997). He was an editor of the Poetry Ireland Review and the founding chairman of ILE (Ireland Literature Exchange). A founding member of

Aosdána Aosdána ( , ; from , 'people of the arts') is an Irish association or academy of artists, each of whom must have produced a distinguished body of work of genuine originality. It was created in 1981 by the country's Arts Council on the initiati ...

(Academy of Distinguished Irish Artists), O'Siadhail has worked with composer

Seóirse Bodley Seóirse Bodley (; 4 April 1933 – 17 November 2023) was an Irish composer and associate professor of music at University College Dublin (UCD). He was the first composer to become a Saoi of Aosdána, in 2008. Bodley is widely regarded as one o ...

and painters Cecil King and

Mick O'Dea Mick O'Dea (born 1958) is an Irish artist best known as a painter of portraits and historical subjects. The second-youngest of five children, O'Dea grew up in Ennis, County Clare, the son of Mick and Margaret O'Dea. He displayed a talent for po ...

. In 2008, he gave a reading as part of a celebration for

Brian Friel Brian Patrick Friel (c. 9 January 1929 – 2 October 2015) was an Irish dramatist, short story writer and founder of the Field Day Theatre Company. He had been considered one of the greatest living English-language dramatists. (subscription requ ...

's 80th birthday. He represented Ireland at the

Poetry Society The Poetry Society is a membership organisation, open to all, whose stated aim is "to promote the study, use and enjoyment of poetry". The society was founded in London in February 1909 as the Poetry Recital Society, becoming the Poetry Society ...

's European Poetry Festival in London in 1981 and the

Frankfurt Book Fair The Frankfurt Book Fair (German: , FBM) is the world's largest trade fair for books, based on the number of publishing companies represented. The five-day annual event in mid-October is held at the Frankfurt Trade Fair grounds in Frankfurt am ...

in 1997. He was a Writer in Residence at the

Yeats William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the ...

Summer School in 1991 and at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

in 2002.

Poetic Development

O'Siadhail's poetic works can be organized into two main periods: his "apprenticeship" (from 1980-1985, during which his first five volumes appeared), followed by his mature period, which occurs after his 1987 decision to resign his professorship and devote his energies to poetry full-time. Apprenticeship O'Siadhail's first three collections were written in Irish: ''An Bhlian Bhisigh'' 'The Leap Year''(1978); ''Runga'' 'Rungs of Time''(1980) and ''Cumann'' '' elonging''(1982). These collections explore themes that recur in his later work. In ''Belonging'', human relationships emerge as a major theme. His next two collections, ''Springnight'' (1983) and ''The Image Wheel'' (1985), were English-language works. They introduced poems that became well-known before he began a series of books based on broad themes. Maturity O'Siadhail described his third collection in English, 1990's ''The Chosen Garden'', as "an effort to face my own journey, to comprehend and trace one's own tiny epic." The ten poems collected in ''The Chosen Garden'' recount, from his early-middle-aged perspective, the poet's early life and development, particularly his experiences at Clongowes. While he included sonnets in ''Springnight'' and ''The Image Wheel'', in ''The Chosen Garden'' O'Siadhail composes sonnet sequences, shifting between Shakepearean and Italian forms, heightening each sequence's "shift in argument." In 1992, ''Hail! Madam Jazz: New and Selected Poems'' appeared'','' which includes the sequence "The Middle Voice." Named the best poetry collection of 1992 by the Dublin ''

Sunday Tribune The ''Sunday Tribune'' was an Irish Sunday broadsheet newspaper published by Tribune Newspapers plc. It was edited in its final years by Nóirín Hegarty, who changed both the tone and the physical format of the newspaper from broadsheet to ta ...

'', it was the first of his collections to be published in North America. ''A Fragile City'', a meditation in four parts on the theme of trust, was published in 1995. His 1998 ''Our Double Time'' addresses themes related to human finitude. ''The Times Literary Supplement'' praised the collection's "fine poems about music." In 2002, he published ''The Gossamer Wall,'' which was shortlisted for the 2003 Jewish Quarterly-Wingate Literary Prize's fiction category. In 2005, he published ''Love Life'', followed by ''Globe'' in 2007. O'Siadhail's poetry often explores themes of love, loss, and the human condition, and features engagement with cultural and historical subjects.

Personal life

In 1970, he married Bríd Ní Chearbhaill, who was born in

Gweedore Gweedore ( , officially known by its Irish language name, ) is a Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking) district, and parish, located on the Atlantic coast of County Donegal in the north-west of Ireland. It stretches some from Glasserchoo and Bloody For ...

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

and worked as a teacher. They were married for 44 years until Ní Chearbhaill died in 2013. After her death, O’Siadhail moved to New York. He is now married to Christina Weltz, an assistant professor of surgical oncology at Mount Sinai Hospital.

Bibliography

Books

;Poetry *1978: ''An Bhliain Bhisigh'' 'The Leap Year''(An Clóchomar, Dublin) *1980: ''Runga'' 'Rungs of Time''(An Clóchomhar, Dublin) *1982: ''Cumann'' 'Belonging''(An Clóchomhar, Dublin) *1985: ''Springnight'' (Bluett, Dublin) *1990: ''The Image Wheel'' (Bluett, Dublin) *1990: ''The Chosen Garden'' (Dedalus, Dublin) *1992: ''Hail! Madam Jazz: New and Selected Poems'' including ''The Middle Voice'' (Bloodaxe, Newcastle upon Tyne) *1995: ''A Fragile City'' (Bloodaxe, Newcastle upon Tyne) *1998: ''Our Double Time'' (Bloodaxe, Newcastle upon Tyne) *1999: ''Poems 1975–1995'' (Bloodaxe, Newcastle upon Tyne) *2002: ''The Gossamer Wall'' (Time Being Books, St. Louis, MO; Bloodaxe, Tarset) *2005: ''Love Life'' (Bloodaxe, Tarset) *2007: ''Globe'' (Bloodaxe, Tarset) *2010: ''Tongues (''Bloodaxe, Tarset) *2014: ''Collected Poems'' (Bloodaxe, Tarset) *2015: ''One Crimson Thread'' (Bloodaxe, Tarset;

Baylor University Press Baylor University Press is a university press affiliated with Baylor University, which is located in Waco, Texas. The press releases books largely about religion and theology; it also publishes works about social criticism, sociology, literary cri ...

, Waco, TX) *2018: ''The Five Quintets'' (Baylor University Press, Waco, TX) *2022: ''Testament'' (Baylor University Press, Waco, TX) *2023: ''Desire'' (Baylor University Press, Waco, TX) ; ;Linguistics and language pedagogy ;* 1978: Téarmaí tógálá agus tís as Inis Meáin (Dublín Institute for Advanced Studies ;* 1983: (with Arndt Wigger) Córas Fuaimeanna na Gaeilge (Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies) ;* 1988: Learning Irish (Yale University Press) ;* 1989: Modern Irish: Grammatical Structure and Dialectal Variation (Cambridge University Press)

Limited editions

*1989 ''Four Poems'' (with artist Cecil King) Editions Monica Beck

About O'Siadhail and his work

*2007: ''The Musics of Belonging: The Poetry of Micheal O'Siadhail'' Ed. Marc Caball and David F. Ford, Carysfort Press, Dublin *2008: ''A Hazardous Melody of Being: Seóirse Bodley's Song Cycles on the Poems of Micheal O'Siadhail'' Edited by Lorraine Byrne Bodley, Carysfort Press, Dublin *2009: ''An Unexpected Light: Theology and Witness in the Poetry and Though of Charles Williams, Micheal O'Siadhail and Geoffrey Hill'', David C. Mahan, Pickwick Publications Eugene

Works set to music

*1987: ''The Naked Flame'', poem suite (music: Seóirse Bodley) RTÉ commissioned for performance and broadcasting *1993: ''Summerfest'' poem suite (Music: Colman Pearce) RTÉ commissioned for performance and broadcasting *2000: ''Earlsfort Suite'' song cycle (Music: Seóirse Bodley) commissioned for Irish Government Department of Arts, the Gaeltacht, Heritage and the Islands as part of the Millennium Frozen Music celebration *2000: ''A Fall'' set by Dan Tucker, commissioned by the

Chicago Humanities Festival The Chicago Humanities Festival is a non-profit organization which hosts an annual series of lectures, concerts, and films in Chicago, Illinois, United States. There are two seasons each year, including a spring festival from April through May, an ...

. *2002: ''Dublín Spring'', poem suite (music: James Wilson) commissioned for performance. *2006: ''Twee gedichten van Micheal O'Siadhail'' for Choir 2006 by Kees van Ersel *2007: ''Squall'' set by Seóirse Bodley

Discography

* ''The Naked Flame'', poem suite (music: Seóirse Bodley) recorded by Aylish E. Kerrigan accompanied on piano by the composer

and available from ''Ein Klang'', Christophestraße, Stuttgart 70178 * ''Cosmos'' from ''Hail! Madam Jazz'' recorded by Helen Shapiro on Jazz Poetry ABM

References

External links

Personal homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Osiadhail, Micheal Academics of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies 1947 births Living people People educated at Clongowes Wood College Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Scholars of Trinity College Dublin 21st-century Irish poets Writers from County Dublin Irish poets