Dennis O'Driscoll

Dennis O’Driscoll (1954 - 2012) was born in County Tipperary, Ireland. His nine books of poetry include New and Selected Poems (Anvil Press, 2004), a Poetry Book Society Special Commendation, Reality Check (2007) and Dear Life (Anvil Press, 2012; Copper Canyon Press, 2013). Among his other publications are Troubled Thoughts, Majestic Dreams: Selected Prose Writings (Gallery Press, 2001) and Stepping Stones: Interviews with Seamus Heaney (Faber and Faber, 2008). His more recent books are The Outnumbered Poet: Critical and Autobiographical Essays (Gallery Press) and, as editor, A Michael Hamburger Reader (Anvil Press).

He was editor of the Bloodaxe Book of Poetry Quotations (2006) and its American counterpart, Quote Poet Unquote (Copper Canyon Press, 2008). His awards include Lannan Literary Awards, the E.M. Forster Award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the O’Shaughnessy Award for Poetry from the Center for Irish Studies in Minnesota, and the Argosy Irish Non-Fiction Book of the Year Award. He was awarded an honorary doctorate in literature by University College, Dublin in 2009.

Dennis O’Driscoll died on December 24, 2012.