Dennis O'Driscoll
Encyclopedia
Dennis O’Driscoll is an Irish poet, essayist, critic, and editor born in Thurles, County Tipperary, Ireland. Although not widely recognized in the United States, he is considered one of the best European poets of his time. In all, he has written eight books of poetry, two chapbooks, and a collection of essays and reviews. Additionally, much of O'Discoll's work has been inspire by his friend and mentor, Nobel Prize
winner, Seamus Heaney
.The majority of his works can be characterized by the use of economic language and the recurring motif
s of mortality and the fragility of everyday life. As he ages, O'Driscoll's works become more fluid and thoughtful as well as more frequent, and, according to some sources, like Alan Brownjohn of The Sunday Times
for instance, even though he is younger than some of the poetic greats, "at best he is already their equal."
and then attended the University of Dublin
from 1972-75. After completing his secondary education, at age sixteen (1970), O'Driscoll was offered a job at Ireland's Office of the Revenue Commissioners
the internal revenue and customs service. Specializing in "death duties, stamp duties, and customs," he was employed for over thirty years full-time.
Later, in the 1970's and 80's, O'Driscoll held many part-time jobs and positions in association with his writing. He took, for instance, a position as part-time editor of Tax Briefing, a technical journal produced in Ireland, as well as reviewing poetry for Hibernia, and The Crane Bag. He also served on the council of the Irish United Nations Association from 1975-80. After this, he married Julie O'Callaghan, a writer, in September of 1985. In 1987, he temporarily became a writer-in-residence at the National University of Ireland. He has also served as editor of Poetry Ireland Review
as well as two textbook anthologies entitled The Bloodaxe Book of Poetry, and Quote Poet Unquote.
After thirty-eight years in Revenue, in early 2008, O'Driscoll was asked to write a poem marking the opening of the Revenue Museum in Dublin Castle, marking the first time his job and his art would intermingle. This poem, At The Revenue Museum, which was originally brought to life to be printed in a program for the opening ceremony, now hangs as an exhibit in the museum itself.
O'Driscoll stayed in the revenue business for as long as he did due to the advice of a colleague, who told him, "If you ever leave your job, you will stop writing." Thus, revenue became a sort of fall back option for him; a career that paid regularly and provided a pension. Whereas poetry was his art. Even so, in his memoir entitled, Sing for the Taxman, O'Driscoll states, "I have always regarded myself as a civil servant rather than a 'poet' or 'artist' - words I would find embarrassing and presumptuous to ascribe to myself."
has called him "one of Ireland's most respected critics of poetry." During this time he contributed upwards of two-hundred essays and reviews to various publications, a few in which he also held the position of editor. Some of the better known periodicals he has been published in are Poetry, The London Magazine, Harvard Review
, The Southern Review, and Poetry Review.
Finally, he has also published one collection of literary criticisms entitled Troubled Thoughts, Majestic Dreams which contains a selection of essays and reviews.
He has also published three chapbooks. These are:
Additionally, a fourth chap book, Dear Life, is scheduled for publication in 2012.
O'Driscoll's poems are often written to contain the major motifs of death and the banality of everyday life in a fluid and discursive style and an economic language base. In an interview, O'Driscoll claimed his sympathy towards writing in the language that is standard to the time period in which one lives. More often than not, O'Driscoll's poems are shrouded by darker thematic content, but every so often his poems can be satiric and even clownish. Despite this, O'Driscoll is know widely for his fundamental compassion for the human condition. The purpose of his poems in often not to stand by and be passively entertaining, but, rather, to challenge te emotional content of the reader's life.
He has also been asked to give readings of his work in such places as the Poetry Room in Harvard University
, the Poetry International in London as well as the Hay-on-Wye
and Cheltenham
festivals of literature.
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
winner, Seamus Heaney
Seamus Heaney
Seamus Heaney is an Irish poet, writer and lecturer. He lives in Dublin. Heaney has received the Nobel Prize in Literature , the Golden Wreath of Poetry , T. S. Eliot Prize and two Whitbread prizes...
.The majority of his works can be characterized by the use of economic language and the recurring motif
Motif
Motif may refer to the following:In creative work:* Motif , a perceivable or salient recurring fragment or succession of notes* Motif , any recurring element in a story that has symbolic significance...
s of mortality and the fragility of everyday life. As he ages, O'Driscoll's works become more fluid and thoughtful as well as more frequent, and, according to some sources, like Alan Brownjohn of The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
for instance, even though he is younger than some of the poetic greats, "at best he is already their equal."
Life and Career
Born on January 1, 1954 in Thurles, County Tipperary, Ireland, O'Driscoll was the child of James and Catherine F., a salesman/horticulturist and a homemaker. He was educated by The Congregation of Christian BrothersChristian Brothers
Christian Brothers may refer to:* Congregation of Christian Brothers, a Catholic lay order founded at Waterford, Ireland in 1802 by the Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice...
and then attended the University of Dublin
University of Dublin
The University of Dublin , corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin , located in Dublin, Ireland, was effectively founded when in 1592 Queen Elizabeth I issued a charter for Trinity College, Dublin, as "the mother of a university" – this date making it...
from 1972-75. After completing his secondary education, at age sixteen (1970), O'Driscoll was offered a job at Ireland's Office of the Revenue Commissioners
Office of the Revenue Commissioners
The Office of the Revenue Commissioners , - now called simply Revenue - is the Irish Government agency responsible for customs, excise, taxation and related matters...
the internal revenue and customs service. Specializing in "death duties, stamp duties, and customs," he was employed for over thirty years full-time.
Later, in the 1970's and 80's, O'Driscoll held many part-time jobs and positions in association with his writing. He took, for instance, a position as part-time editor of Tax Briefing, a technical journal produced in Ireland, as well as reviewing poetry for Hibernia, and The Crane Bag. He also served on the council of the Irish United Nations Association from 1975-80. After this, he married Julie O'Callaghan, a writer, in September of 1985. In 1987, he temporarily became a writer-in-residence at the National University of Ireland. He has also served as editor of Poetry Ireland Review
Poetry Ireland Review
Poetry Ireland Review is a journal of Irish poetry published quarterly by Poetry Ireland, the national Irish poetry organization.Poetry Ireland Review publishes the work of both emerging and established Irish and international poets. In line with keeping the journal fresh, vibrant and progressive...
as well as two textbook anthologies entitled The Bloodaxe Book of Poetry, and Quote Poet Unquote.
After thirty-eight years in Revenue, in early 2008, O'Driscoll was asked to write a poem marking the opening of the Revenue Museum in Dublin Castle, marking the first time his job and his art would intermingle. This poem, At The Revenue Museum, which was originally brought to life to be printed in a program for the opening ceremony, now hangs as an exhibit in the museum itself.
O'Driscoll stayed in the revenue business for as long as he did due to the advice of a colleague, who told him, "If you ever leave your job, you will stop writing." Thus, revenue became a sort of fall back option for him; a career that paid regularly and provided a pension. Whereas poetry was his art. Even so, in his memoir entitled, Sing for the Taxman, O'Driscoll states, "I have always regarded myself as a civil servant rather than a 'poet' or 'artist' - words I would find embarrassing and presumptuous to ascribe to myself."
Journal Publications
Prior to the publication of his own poems, O'Driscoll published widely in journals and other print publications as both an essayist and poetry reviewer, for which he was very widely known. In fact,The Times Literary SupplementThe Times Literary Supplement
The Times Literary Supplement is a weekly literary review published in London by News International, a subsidiary of News Corporation.-History:...
has called him "one of Ireland's most respected critics of poetry." During this time he contributed upwards of two-hundred essays and reviews to various publications, a few in which he also held the position of editor. Some of the better known periodicals he has been published in are Poetry, The London Magazine, Harvard Review
Harvard Review
The Harvard Review is a literary magazine published by the Harvard University library system.Its origins can be dated to 1986, when Stratis Haviaras, the curator of the libraries' poetry room founded a magazine called Erato to publicize poetry room authors.The first issue included a poem by Seamus...
, The Southern Review, and Poetry Review.
Finally, he has also published one collection of literary criticisms entitled Troubled Thoughts, Majestic Dreams which contains a selection of essays and reviews.
Books and Works
Apart from his contributions to the academic review community, O'Driscoll has published a number of poems in journals as well. His poetry publications include:- Kist (Dolmen Press, 1982)
- Hidden Extras (Anvil Press PoetryAnvil Press PoetryAnvil Press Poetry is an independent poetry publisher based in Greenwich, south-east London. It was founded in 1968 by Peter Jay and specialises in contemporary English poets, with a leavening of Irish and American, and in a range of translated poetry, from ancient classics to modern and...
, London/Dedalus Press, Dublin, 1987) - Long Story Short (Anvil Press PoetryAnvil Press PoetryAnvil Press Poetry is an independent poetry publisher based in Greenwich, south-east London. It was founded in 1968 by Peter Jay and specialises in contemporary English poets, with a leavening of Irish and American, and in a range of translated poetry, from ancient classics to modern and...
/Dedalus Press, 1993) - Quality Time (Anvil Press PoetryAnvil Press PoetryAnvil Press Poetry is an independent poetry publisher based in Greenwich, south-east London. It was founded in 1968 by Peter Jay and specialises in contemporary English poets, with a leavening of Irish and American, and in a range of translated poetry, from ancient classics to modern and...
, 1997) - Weather Permitting (Anvil Press PoetryAnvil Press PoetryAnvil Press Poetry is an independent poetry publisher based in Greenwich, south-east London. It was founded in 1968 by Peter Jay and specialises in contemporary English poets, with a leavening of Irish and American, and in a range of translated poetry, from ancient classics to modern and...
, 1999), which was a Poetry Book Society Recommendation and shortlisted for the Irish Times Poetry Prize 2001 - Exemplary Damages (Anvil Press PoetryAnvil Press PoetryAnvil Press Poetry is an independent poetry publisher based in Greenwich, south-east London. It was founded in 1968 by Peter Jay and specialises in contemporary English poets, with a leavening of Irish and American, and in a range of translated poetry, from ancient classics to modern and...
, 2002) - New and Selected Poems (Anvil Press PoetryAnvil Press PoetryAnvil Press Poetry is an independent poetry publisher based in Greenwich, south-east London. It was founded in 1968 by Peter Jay and specialises in contemporary English poets, with a leavening of Irish and American, and in a range of translated poetry, from ancient classics to modern and...
, 2004) was a Poetry Book Society Special Commendation - Reality Check (Anvil Press PoetryAnvil Press PoetryAnvil Press Poetry is an independent poetry publisher based in Greenwich, south-east London. It was founded in 1968 by Peter Jay and specialises in contemporary English poets, with a leavening of Irish and American, and in a range of translated poetry, from ancient classics to modern and...
, 2007/ Copper Canyon PressCopper Canyon PressCopper Canyon Press is an independent, non-profit small press, specializing in the publication of poetry and located in the picturesque town of Port Townsend, Washington. Since 1972, the Press has published poetry exclusively and has established an international reputation for its commitment to...
, US, 2008), was shortlisted for the Irish Times/Poetry Now Prize
He has also published three chapbooks. These are:
- The Bottom Line (Dedalus Editions, 1994)
- 50 O’Clock (Happy Dragons' PressHappy Dragons' PressThe Happy Dragons' Press is a non-profit private press in North Essex, UK, which publishes limited edition volumes of poetry using letterpress printing methods. There are currently two series produced by the press, the Dragon Poems in Translation series and the New Garland series...
, UK, 2005)[4] - All the Living (Traffic Street Press, Minnesota, 2008).
Additionally, a fourth chap book, Dear Life, is scheduled for publication in 2012.
O'Driscoll's poems are often written to contain the major motifs of death and the banality of everyday life in a fluid and discursive style and an economic language base. In an interview, O'Driscoll claimed his sympathy towards writing in the language that is standard to the time period in which one lives. More often than not, O'Driscoll's poems are shrouded by darker thematic content, but every so often his poems can be satiric and even clownish. Despite this, O'Driscoll is know widely for his fundamental compassion for the human condition. The purpose of his poems in often not to stand by and be passively entertaining, but, rather, to challenge te emotional content of the reader's life.
Awards
Due to the notability of his works, O'Driscoll as received numerous awards and recognition from countries around the world. These include:- Lannan Literary Award
- E.M. Forster Award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters
- O'Shaughnessy Award for Poetry from the Center of Irish Studies in Minnesota
- Poetry Book Special Commendation for New and Selected Poems
- Shortlisted for The Irish TimesThe Irish TimesThe Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Kevin O'Sullivan who succeeded Geraldine Kennedy in 2011; the deputy editor is Paul O'Neill. The Irish Times is considered to be Ireland's newspaper of record, and is published every day except Sundays...
Poetry Now AwardPoetry Now AwardThe Poetry Now Award is an annual literary prize presented for the best single volume of poetry by an Irish poet. The €5,000 award is presented during the annual Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Poetry Now international poetry festival. The festival began in 1996 and the first Poetry Now Award was bestowed...
for Reality Check - Argosy Irish Non-Fiction Book of the Year Award
- Honorary doctorate in literature by University College, Dublin
He has also been asked to give readings of his work in such places as the Poetry Room in Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, the Poetry International in London as well as the Hay-on-Wye
Hay-on-Wye
Hay-on-Wye , often described as "the town of books", is a small market town and community in Powys, Wales.-Location:The town lies on the east bank of the River Wye and is within the Brecon Beacons National Park, just north of the Black Mountains...
and Cheltenham
Cheltenham
Cheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...
festivals of literature.
External links
- Dennis O'Driscoll website
- Dennis O'Driscoll interview, Mark Thwaite, Ready Steady Book
- "I Sing Ireland Electric Dennis O'Driscoll's wired, modern picture of Dublin.", Adam Kirsch, April 16, 2003, Slate
- Audio: Dennis O'Driscoll reads "Some Wonder Am I" from The Word Exchange: Anglo-Saxon Poems in Translation
Images
- http://www.flickr.com/photos/poetryireland/915866909/
- http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3547/3682513521_0e8006cf50.jpg
- http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/0856463736.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
- http://images.booksamillion.com/covers/bam/1/55/659/270/1556592701.jpg