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Born Co Donegal, Ireland, 1952. Lived
for many years in London. Recently has been spending time abroad - in
Germany and Romania - but returning to UK and Ireland frequently for
work and earnings purposes.
As well as publications mentioned
elsewhere, work is increasingly appearing in translation. See
'Translation' section below, under Publications.
Has lived as a freelance writer since
the mid 1980s.
Education:
BA in German and English, Polytechnic
of North London / University of Freiburg, 1979.
Gormanston College, 1965 - 70
Poetry
Sanctuary (Cape, 2004)
Selected Poems (Cape,
2002); a variant of this published in Canada, in 2002, under the title
A Picnic on Ice by Signal Editions, Vehicule Press.
A Smell of Fish (Cape, 2000)
The Bridal Suite (Cape, 1997)
Cacti (Secker & Warburg,
1992)
Blue Shoes (Secker &
Warburg, 1989)
The Lame Waltzer (Allison
& Busby / Raven Arts Press, 1985)
A Round House (Allison &
Busby / Raven Arts Press, 1983)
Poetry for
children
Up on the Roof: New and
Selected Poems (Faber, 2001)
Fiction for
children
Fox (Bloomsbury, 2002;
in German translation, from Berlin Verlag, 2003)
The Snow Vulture (Faber, 1992)
Handbook
Writing Poetry
and Getting Published (Hodder & Stoughton, 1997; Second
Edition 2003) -
co-author with John Hartley Williams.
Editor
Irish Poems (Macmillan,
2005)
The New Faber Book of Children's
Verse (Faber, 2001)
Beyond Bedlam: Poems Written out
of Mental Distress
(Anvil, 1997); co-editor with Ken Smith.
Emergency Kit: Poems for Strange
Times
(Faber, 1996); co-editor with Jo Shapcott.
Translation
A German
translation of Fox came out from Berlin Verlag in October 2003,
and a Dutch translation the following year. Books of poetry in
translation have appeared over the last few years in Romania, Mexico,
Latvia and Slovakia, with others forthcoming in Holland in 2005 and
Germany in 2006. His
poems are currently being translated in Italy, Croatia and
Japan.
Poet in residence,
stAnza Poetry Festival, 2003
Poet in residence, Ledbury Festival,
2002
Poet in residence, National Library
for the Blind, 2000
Writer in Residence, University of
Reading, 1998
Poet in residence, Chadwyck-Healey
electronic publisher, 1997
Writer in Residence, South Bank
Centre, London, 1994/95
Poet in Residence, Hereford &
Worcester, 1991
Henfield Writing Fellowship,
University of East Anglia, 1987
Poet in Residence, Farnham College,
Surrey, 1984 & 85
Other Relevant Experience
Tutor of weekly poetry workshop at
Morley College, London.
Regular tutor of one-off workshops in
Britain, Ireland and elsewhere.
Frequent tutor of Arvon courses.
Readings and workshops in Romania,
Hungary and Spain, 2002; in Mexico, 2001; and in France and the US in
1999.
Readings in Italy, Austria and
Canada, 2002; in Canada, Mexico and Belgium, 2001; in Australia and
Germany, 2000; in South Africa, 1999; in India and Holland, 1998.
Regular readings in UK, Ireland and
the US.
Frequent contributor to BBC radio
programmes.
Occasional reviewer of poetry-related
books, or children's books.
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