Pearse Hutchinson (16 February 1927 – 14 January 2012) was an
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
poet, broadcaster and translator.
Childhood and education
Hutchinson was born in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
. His father, Harry Hutchinson, a Scottish printer whose own father had left Dublin to find work in Scotland, was
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...
treasurer in Glasgow and was interned in
Frongoch
Frongoch is a village located in Gwynedd, Wales. It lies close to the market town of Bala, on the A4212 road.
It was the home of the Frongoch internment camp, used to hold German prisoners-of-war during First World War, and then Irish Rep ...
in 1919–21. His mother, Cathleen Sara, was born in
Cowcaddens
Cowcaddens ( sco, Coucaddens, gd, Coille Challtainn)
...
, Glasgow, of emigrant parents from
Donegal. She was a friend of
Constance Markievicz
Constance Georgine Markievicz ( pl, Markiewicz ; ' Gore-Booth; 4 February 1868 – 15 July 1927), also known as Countess Markievicz and Madame Markievicz, was an Irish politician, revolutionary, nationalist, suffragist, socialist, and the firs ...
. In response to a letter from Cathleen,
Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera (, ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was a prominent Irish statesman and political leader. He served several terms as head of governm ...
found work in Dublin for Harry as a clerk in the Labour Exchange, and later he held a post in Stationery Office.
Pearse was five years old when the family moved to Dublin, and was the last to be enrolled in
St. Enda's School before it closed. He then went to school at the
Christian Brothers, Synge Street where he learnt
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
and
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
.
One of his close friends there was the poet and literary critic
John Jordan. In 1948 he attended
University College Dublin
University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...
where he spent a year and a half, learning Spanish and Italian.
Travels overseas
Having published some poems in ''
The Bell'' in 1945, his poetic development was greatly influenced by a 1950 holiday in Spain and
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
. A short stop en route at
Vigo
Vigo ( , , , ) is a city and Municipalities in Spain, municipality in the province of Pontevedra, within the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain. Located in the northwest of the Iberian Penins ...
brought him into contact for the first time with the culture of
Galicia. Later, in
Andalusia
Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...
, he was entranced by the landscape and by the works of the Spanish poets
Lorca,
Prados
Prados is a Brazilian municipality located in the state of Minas Gerais. The city belongs to the mesoregion of Campo das Vertentes and to the microregion of Sao Joao del Rei. In 2020, the estimated population was 9,080.
Geography
According to ...
and
Cernuda: "That early September of 1950," he would later write, "the light walked for me as it never had before, and I walked through the light I'd always longed for".
[Pearse Hutchinson, Introduction, ''Done into English'', 2003]
In 1951 he left Ireland again, determined to go and live in Spain. Unable to get work in Madrid, as he had hoped, he travelled instead to
Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
, where he got a job as a translator with the
International Labour Office
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and ol ...
, which brought him into contact with
Catalan
Catalan may refer to:
Catalonia
From, or related to Catalonia:
* Catalan language, a Romance language
* Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia
Places
* 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...
exiles, speaking a language then largely suppressed in Spain. An invitation by a Dutch friend led to a visit to the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, in preparation for which he taught himself
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
.
He returned to Ireland in 1953, and he became interested in the Irish language poetry of writers such as
Piaras Feiritéar
Piaras Feiritéar (; 1600? – 1653), or Pierce Ferriter, was an Irish clan Chief of the Name, Chief, and Irish poetry, poet. Although best known for his many works of Bardic poetry in the Irish language, Feiritéar is also a widely revered folk ...
and
Aonghus Fionn Ó Dálaigh
Aonghus Fionn Ó Dálaigh (known as "The Pious"), was an Irish poet, fl. 1520–1570.
Thought to have been born in County Meath, Aonghus Fionn was the head of the branch of the Ó Dálaigh family who were poets to the MacCarthy of Desmond. Onl ...
, and published a number of poems in Irish in the magazine ''Comhar'' in 1954.
The same year he travelled again to Spain, this time to
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, where he learnt the Catalan and Galician languages, and got to know Catalan poets such as
Salvador Espriu
Salvador Espriu i Castelló (; 10 July 1913 – 22 February 1985) was a Catalan poet.
Biography
Espriu was born in Santa Coloma de Farners, Catalonia, Spain. He was the son of an attorney. He spent his childhood between his home town, Barcelon ...
and
Carles Riba
Carles Riba i Bracons (; 23 September 1893 - 12 July 1959) was a Catalan poet, writer and translator of Spanish nationality.
He was born in Barcelona and studied Law and Philosophy at the Universitat de Barcelona. In 1916 he married the poet Cleme ...
. With the British poet
P. J. Kavanagh
P. J. Kavanagh
FRSL (6 January 1931 – 26 August 2015) was an English poet, lecturer, actor, broadcaster and columnist. His father was the ''ITMA'' scriptwriter Ted Kavanagh.
Life
Patrick Joseph Kavanagh worked as a Butlin's Redcoat, t ...
, he organised a reading of Catalan poetry in the British Institute.
He went home to Ireland in 1957 but returned to Barcelona in 1961, and continued to support Catalan poets. An invitation by the publisher
Joan Gili
Joan Gili i Serra (), also known as John Gili (1907 – 6 May 1998), was a Catalan people, Catalan antiquarian book-seller, publisher and translator.
Joan Gili was born in Barcelona in 1907. His father, Lluis Gili, ran a religious publishing house ...
to translate some poems by
Josep Carner
Josep Carner i Puigoriol (; born Barcelona 9 February 1884 - died Brussels 4 June 1970), was a Spanish poet, journalist, playwright and translator. He was also known as ''the Prince of Catalan Poets''.
He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Lit ...
led to the publication of his first book, a collection of thirty of Carner's poems in Catalan and English, in 1962. A project to publish Hutchinson's translation of Espriu's ''La Pell de brau (The Bull-skin)'', fell through some years later. Some of the poems from this project are included in the collection ''Done into English''.
Return to Ireland
In 1963, his first collection of original poems in English, ''Tongue Without Hands'' (the title a quotation from the Spanish epic
El Cid
Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (c. 1043 – 10 July 1099) was a Castilian knight and warlord in medieval Spain. Fighting with both Christian and Muslim armies during his lifetime, he earned the Arabic honorific ''al-sīd'', which would evolve into El ...
), was published by
Dolmen Press
Dolmen Press was founded by Liam and Josephine Miller in 1951.
History
In 1951 Liam acquired an Adana hand press from Blanaid and Cecil Ffrench Salkeld on loan which they had used for their Gayfield Press, with a case of Bodoni type. Some ...
in Ireland. In 1967, having spent nearly ten years altogether in Spain, Hutchinson returned to Ireland, making a living as a poet and journalist writing in both Irish and English. In 1968, a collection of poems in Irish, ''Faoistin Bhacach'' (A Lame Confession), was published. ''Expansions'', a collection in English, followed in 1969. ''Friend Songs'' (1970) was a new collection of translations, this time of medieval poems originally written in
Galaicoportuguese. In 1972 ''Watching the Morning Grow'', a new collection of original poems in English, came out, followed in 1975 by another, ''The Frost Is All Over''.
In October 1971, Hutchinson took up the Gregory Fellowship in Poetry at the
University of Leeds
, mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased
, established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds
, ...
, on the recommendation of Professor A. Norman Jeffares. There was some controversy around the appointment following accusations, later retracted, that Jeffares had been guilty of bias in the selection because of their joint Irish heritage. Hutchinson held tenure at the University for three years, and during that time contributed to the University's influential poetry magazine ''Poetry & Audience''; one edition of the magazine, devoted entirely to his poetry, was published as a limited edition.
From 1977 to 1978 he compiled and presented ''Oró Domhnaigh'', a weekly radio programme of Irish poetry, music and folklore for Ireland's national network,
RTÉ
(RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...
. He also contributed a weekly column on the Irish language to the station's magazine ''
RTÉ Guide
The ''RTÉ Guide'' is a television and radio listings magazine in Ireland published by RTÉ Commercial Enterprises Ltd, a subsidiary of Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ).
The magazine offers detailed programme listings for RTÉ channels, as w ...
'' for over ten years. 1981 saw the publication of another translated collection: this time a collaboration with Melita Cataldi, of Old Irish lyrics into Italian. Another collection in English, ''Climbing the Light'' (1985), which also included translations from Irish, Italian and Galician, was followed in 1989 by his last Irish collection, ''Le Cead na Gréine'' (By Leave of the Sun). ''The Soul that Kissed the Body'' (1990) was a selection of his Irish poems translated into English. His most recent English collection was ''Barnsley Main Seam'' (1995); the long title poem celebrates the splendours of
York Minster
The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, commonly known as York Minster, is the cathedral of York, North Yorkshire, England, and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The minster is the seat of the Archbis ...
, and is a homage to the manual workers of the world.
His ''Collected Poems'' were published in 2002 to mark his 75th birthday. This was followed in 2003 by ''Done into English'', a selection of many of the translated works he produced over the years; it contains translations of more than sixty poets from over a dozen languages or dialects, including Catalan, Italian, Dutch, Milanese and Irish. 'Every poem in this book has been translated because I liked it', he explained.
A co-editor and founder of the literary journal ''Cyphers'', he received the Butler Award for Irish writing in 1969. He is a member of
Aosdána
Aosdána ( , ; from , 'people of the arts') is an Irish association of artists. It was created in 1981 on the initiative of a group of writers with support from the country's Arts Council. Membership, which is by invitation from current member ...
, the state-supported association of artists, from which he received a ''cnuas'' (stipend) to allow him to go on writing. He has described this as "a miracle and a godsend": "I was fifty-four when I was invited to become a member and frankly I was at the end of my tether. I might have carried on, but I would have been in the gutter because I would have been evicted or I would have gone mad or killed myself or both." A two-day symposium of events was held at
Trinity College Dublin
, name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin
, motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin)
, motto_lang = la
, motto_English = It will last i ...
, to celebrate his 80th birthday in 2007, with readings from his works by writers including
Macdara Woods
Macdara Woods (1942 – 15 June 2018) was an Irish poet.
Biography
Woods was born in Dublin, where he attended Gonzaga College and then University College Dublin. He married the poet Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin. They had one son, Niall, a musician. ...
,
Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin
Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin (; born 1942) is an Irish poet and academic. She was the Ireland Professor of Poetry (2016–19).
Biography
Ní Chuilleanáin was born in Cork in 1942. She is the daughter of Eilís Dillon and Professor Cormac Ó Cuil ...
,
Paul Durcan
Paul Durcan (born 16 October 1944) is a contemporary Irish poet.
Early life
Durcan was born and grew up in Dublin and in Turlough, County Mayo. His father, John, was a barrister and circuit court judge; father and son had a difficult and forma ...
and
Sujata Bhatt.
In his most recent collection, ''At Least for a While'' (2008), which was shortlisted for the
Poetry Now Award
The Poetry Now Award is an annual literary prize presented for the best single volume of poetry by an Irish poet. The €5,000 award was first given in 2005 (reduced to €2,500 in 2013) and is presented during annual Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown ...
, he comments on the replacement of the traditional symbolism of Ireland with the
Celtic Tiger
The "Celtic Tiger" ( ga, An Tíogar Ceilteach) is a term referring to the economy of Ireland from the mid-1990s to the late 2000s, a period of rapid real economic growth fuelled by foreign direct investment. The boom was dampened by a subseque ...
: "Music and a small plant/ we had for emblems once./ Better, surely,/ than lion or eagle./ Now our proudest boast/ is a dangerous beast of prey." He lived in
Rathgar
Rathgar (), is a suburb of Dublin in Ireland. It was originally a village which from 1862 was part of the township of Rathmines and Rathgar; it was absorbed by the growing city and became a suburb in 1930. It lies about three kilometres south of ...
, Dublin, and died on 14 January 2012.
Critical opinion
Hutchinson's 'unique achievements resist neat classification', writes Michael Kenneally. 'When he writes of privilege and opportunism Hutchinson leaves no aftertaste of self-righteousness'. The ''Irish Times'' has described him as 'one of Ireland's most inventive, instructive, and perennially newsworthy poets. ... His poems are often short, they can appear delicate on the page, and they sometimes seem to record glimpses or passing glances, but they always embody and, at their best, articulate Hutchinson's desire for what he once called "true gentleness".'
Death
Pearse Hutchinson died on 14 January 2012, in Dublin, Ireland, aged 84.
Works
* ''Josep Carner: Poems'' (Oxford, The Dolphin Press, 1962)
* ''Tongue Without Hands'' (Dublin, The Dolmen Press, 1963)
* ''Faoistin Bhacach'' (Baile Átha Cliath, An Clóchomhar, 1968)
* ''Expansions'' (The Dolmen Press, 1969)
* ''Watching the Morning Grow'' (Dublin, The Gallery Press, 1972)
* ''The Frost is all Over'' (The Gallery Press, 1975)
* ''Selected Poems'' (Oldcastle, Co Meath, The Gallery Press, 1980)
* ''Climbing the Light'' (The Gallery Press, 1985)
* ''The Soul that Kissed the Body: Selected Poems in Irish with translations into English'' (Dublin, The Gallery Press, 1990)
* ''Le Cead na Gréine'', (An Clóchomhar, 1992)
* ''Barnsley Main seam'' (The Gallery Press, 1995)
* ''Collected Poems'' (The Gallery Press, 2002)
* ''Done Into English: Collected Translations'' (Dublin, The Gallery Press, 2003)
* ''At Least For A While'' (The Gallery Press, 2008)
* ''Mooie rode zijden liefde/Beautiful red silk love'', bilingual: English/Dutch, translators: Joris Iven and Peter Flynn (Demer Press, ePublisher, Belgium, 1st ed. 2010, 2nd ed. 2012)
Reviews
*
Murphy, Hayden (1976), review of ''The Frost is All Over'', in Burnett, Ray (ed.), ''Calgacus'' 3, Spring 1976, pp.55 & 56,
Notes
Sources
* Pearse Hutchinson interview, ''Poetry Ireland Review'', 52nd edition, edited by Liam O Muirthile, 1997.
* Pearse Hutchinson, Introduction, ''Done Into English'', 2003.
* Robert Welch (ed), ''The Oxford Companion to Irish Literature''. Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1996.
''The Arts Show'', RTE Radio 13 December 2007 Interview with Pearse Hutchinson
External links
Pearse Hutchinsonat
Aosdána
Aosdána ( , ; from , 'people of the arts') is an Irish association of artists. It was created in 1981 on the initiative of a group of writers with support from the country's Arts Council. Membership, which is by invitation from current member ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hutchinson, Pearse
1927 births
2012 deaths
Aosdána members
Catalan–English translators
Irish poets
20th-century Irish-language poets
Irish translators
The Irish Press people
The Irish Times people
Writers from Glasgow
Scottish people of Irish descent
Translators from Dutch
Translators from Irish
Translators from Italian
Translators to Italian
20th-century Scottish poets
Scottish male poets
20th-century translators
20th-century British male writers
People educated at Synge Street CBS
People educated at St. Enda's School
Irish–English translators