Rita Ann Higgins (born 1955) is 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 and playwright.

Early life

A native of Ballybrit,

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

, Higgins was one of thirteen children in a working-class household. She went to Briarhill National School, and Sisters of Mercy Convent, Galway. She married in 1973 but following the birth of her second child in 1977, contracted

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

, forcing her to spend an extended period in a

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...

. While confined, she began reading, and took to composing poems. She joined the Galway Writers' Workshop in 1982. Jessie Lendennie, editor of Salmon Publishing, encouraged Higgins and oversaw the publication of her first five collections.

Career

Higgins was Galway County's Writer-in-Residence in 1987, Writer in Residence at the National University of Ireland, Galway, in 1994–95, Writer in Residence for Offaly County Council in 1998–99. She was Green Honors Professor at Texas Christian University, in October 2000. Other awards include a Peadar O'Donnell Award in 1989, several Arts Council bursaries 'Sunny Side Plucked' was a Poetry Book Society Recommendation. She was made an honorary fellow at Hong Kong Baptist University November 2006.

Personal life

Higgins 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 ...

, though the group turned her down five times previously. She cites the feminist,

Mary Wollstonecraft Mary Wollstonecraft (, ; 27 April 1759 – 10 September 1797) was a British writer, philosopher, and advocate of women's rights. Until the late 20th century, Wollstonecraft's life, which encompassed several unconventional personal relationsh ...

, and the Irish Republican,

Mary MacSwiney Mary MacSwiney (pronounced 'MacSweeney'; ga, Máire Nic Shuibhne; 27 March 1872 – 8 March 1942) was an Irish politician and educationalist. In 1927 she became deputy leader of Sinn Féin when Éamon de Valera resigned from the presidency of ...

, as role models. She lives in Galway and

An Spidéal Spiddal ( ga, An Spidéal , meaning 'the hospital') is a village on the shore of Galway Bay in County Galway, Ireland. It is west of Galway city, on the R336 road. It is on the eastern side of the county's Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking area) a ...

Selected works

Poetry

* ''Goddess on the Mervue Bus'', Salmon Poetry, 1986 * ''Witch in the Bushes'', Salmon Poetry, 1988 * ''Goddess and Witch'', Salmon Poetry, 1990 * ''Philomena's Revenge'', Salmon Poetry, 1992 * ''Higher Purchase'', Salmon Poetry, 1996 * ''Sunny Side Plucked: New & Selected Poems'', Bloodaxe Books, 1996 * ''An Awful Racket'', Bloodaxe Books, 2001 * ''Throw in the Vowels: New & Selected Poems'', Bloodaxe Books, 2005; 2nd edition 2010 with audio CD * ''Hurting God: Prose & Poems'', Salmon Poetry, 2010 * ''Ireland Is Changing Mother'', Bloodaxe Books, 2011 * ''Tongulish'', Bloodaxe Books, 2016 * ''Our Killer City,'' Salmon Poetry, 2018 * ''Pathogens Love a Patsy - Pandemic and Other Poems'', Salmon Poetry, 2020

Plays

* ''Face Licker Come Home, 1991 * ''God of the Hatch Man'', 1992 * ''Colie Lally Doesn't Live in a Bucket'', 1993 * ''Down All the Roundabouts'', 1999 * ''The Empty Frame'', 2008 * ''The Plastic Bag'', 2008 * ''The Empty Frame'', 2008 * ''The Colossal Longing of Julie Connors'', 2014

Screenplay

* ''The Big Break'', 2004 *''Straois/The Smirk'', 2018

References

External links

* Video readings in th
Irish Poetry Reading ArchiveUCD Digital LibraryUniversity College DublinStuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library
Emory University
Rita Ann Higgins papers, 1968-2017
{{DEFAULTSORT:Higgins, Rita Ann 1955 births Living people Aosdána members Irish women poets People from County Galway Irish women dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Irish dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Irish poets 21st-century Irish dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Irish poets 20th-century Irish women writers 21st-century Irish women writers