ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Born in Thurles, County Tipperary, in 1954, Dennis O’Driscoll published eight previous books of poetry, including New and Selected Poems (Anvil Press, 2004), a Poetry Book Society Special Commendation, and Reality Check (Copper Canyon Press, 2008), shortlisted for the Irish Times / Poetry Now Prize 2008. A selection of his essays and reviews, Troubled Thoughts, Majestic Dreams (Gallery Press), was published in 2001. He edited a book of contemporary quotations about poetry, Quote Poet Unquote (Copper Canyon Press, 2008), and his book Stepping Stones: Interviews with Seamus Heaney (Farrar, Straus and Giroux ) was published in 2008; it was shortlisted for ‘Book of the Decade’ in the Irish Book Awards 2010.

Among numerous anthologies in which his work appears are The Penguin Book of Irish Poetry, An Anthology of Modern Irish Poetry (Harvard University Press), 20th Century Irish Poems (Faber) and Poetry magazine’s anthology (Ivan R. Dee). A substantial selection of his work is included in The Wake Forest Series of Irish Poetry 1 (Wake Forest University Press, 2005).