Eamon Grennan
Encyclopedia
Eamon Grennan is an Irish
poet
born in Dublin. He has lived in the United States
, except for brief periods, since 1964. He was the Dexter M. Ferry, Jr. Professor of English at Vassar College
until his retirement in 2004.
Though his Irish roots
are clear in his poetry, Grennan has an international sense of literary tradition. He has cited as influences American poets including Robert Frost
and Elizabeth Bishop
(herself an international poet with ties to the U.S., Canada
, and Brazil
). In addition to writing poetry, he has translated Giacomo Leopardi
and—with his wife, Vassar classicist
Rachel Kitzinger—Sophocles
's Oedipus at Colonus
.
Grennan
studied at University College, Dublin, where he met poets Derek Mahon and Eavan Boland
, and at Harvard University
, and began teaching at Vassar in 1974. He returned to Ireland fairly briefly, first in 1977 and later in 1981, and began writing poetry there. His first book, Wildly for Days, was published in 1983. Gaelic poetry
became an important influence, particularly, he has said, on the sound of his poems. At the same time, he is interested in the sentence as a poetic unit as well as a prose unit. In an interview with Timothy Cahill, Grennan said:
Grennan's career has been long, productive and distinguished, and he has earned from fellow poets a reputation for lyrical skill and psychological intensity. Former U.S. Poet Laureate
Billy Collins
said of Grennan:
Grennan was shortlisted for the 2008 Poetry Now Award
for his collection, Out of Breath.
In early 2007 he visited St.Paul's High School in Brooklandville, Maryland to discuss poetry.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
born in Dublin. He has lived in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, except for brief periods, since 1964. He was the Dexter M. Ferry, Jr. Professor of English at Vassar College
Vassar College
Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
until his retirement in 2004.
Though his Irish roots
Irish literature
For a comparatively small island, Ireland has made a disproportionately large contribution to world literature. Irish literature encompasses the Irish and English languages.-The beginning of writing in Irish:...
are clear in his poetry, Grennan has an international sense of literary tradition. He has cited as influences American poets including Robert Frost
Robert Frost
Robert Lee Frost was an American poet. He is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech. His work frequently employed settings from rural life in New England in the early twentieth century, using them to examine complex social and...
and Elizabeth Bishop
Elizabeth Bishop
Elizabeth Bishop was an American poet and short-story writer. She was the Poet Laureate of the United States from 1949 to 1950, a Pulitzer Prize winner in 1956 and a National Book Award Winner for Poetry in 1970. Elizabeth Bishop House is an artists' retreat in Great Village, Nova Scotia...
(herself an international poet with ties to the U.S., Canada
Canadian literature
Canadian literature is literature originating from Canada. Collectively it is often called CanLit. Some criticism of Canadian literature has focused on nationalistic and regional themes, although this is only a small portion of Canadian Literary criticism...
, and Brazil
Literature of Brazil
Brazilian literature is written in the Portuguese language by Brazilians or in Brazil, even if prior to Brazil's independence from Portugal, in 1822...
). In addition to writing poetry, he has translated Giacomo Leopardi
Giacomo Leopardi
Giacomo Taldegardo Francesco di Sales Saverio Pietro Leopardi was an Italian poet, essayist, philosopher, and philologist...
and—with his wife, Vassar classicist
Ancient Greek literature
Ancient Greek literature refers to literature written in the Ancient Greek language until the 4th century.- Classical and Pre-Classical Antiquity :...
Rachel Kitzinger—Sophocles
Sophocles
Sophocles is one of three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived. His first plays were written later than those of Aeschylus, and earlier than or contemporary with those of Euripides...
's Oedipus at Colonus
Oedipus at Colonus
Oedipus at Colonus is one of the three Theban plays of the Athenian tragedian Sophocles...
.
Grennan
Grennan
Grennan is an Irish surname found mainly in east County Mayo and in the southwest parts of County Westmeath. The Grennans in Mayo are of Gaelic descent while it is believed the Grennans of Westmeath are of Norman origin . Also compare this name with the French surname Grenan.- Notable Grennans...
studied at University College, Dublin, where he met poets Derek Mahon and Eavan Boland
Eavan Boland
-Biography:Boland's father, Frederick Boland, was a career diplomat and her mother, Frances Kelly, was a noted post-expressionist painter. She was born in Dublin in 1944. At the age of six, Boland's father was appointed Irish Ambassador to the United Kingdom; the family followed him to London,...
, and at 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...
, and began teaching at Vassar in 1974. He returned to Ireland fairly briefly, first in 1977 and later in 1981, and began writing poetry there. His first book, Wildly for Days, was published in 1983. Gaelic poetry
Modern literature in Irish
Although Irish has been used as a literary language for more than 1500 years , and in a form intelligible to contemporary speakers since at least the sixteenth century, modern literature in Irish owes much to the Gaelic Revival, a cultural movement which began in the late nineteenth century.-Early...
became an important influence, particularly, he has said, on the sound of his poems. At the same time, he is interested in the sentence as a poetic unit as well as a prose unit. In an interview with Timothy Cahill, Grennan said:
- I have, it's a toothache quality, a kind of pain -- the ambition to make a sentence that is full, that has not gone limp, hasn't stopped while it still has some elasticity in it.
Grennan's career has been long, productive and distinguished, and he has earned from fellow poets a reputation for lyrical skill and psychological intensity. Former U.S. Poet Laureate
Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress
The Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress—commonly referred to as the United States Poet Laureate—serves as the nation's official poet. During his or her term, the Poet Laureate seeks to raise the national consciousness to a greater appreciation of the reading and writing of...
Billy Collins
Billy Collins
Billy Collins is an American poet, appointed as Poet Laureate of the United States from 2001 to 2003. He is a Distinguished Professor at Lehman College of the City University of New York and is the Senior Distinguished Fellow of the Winter Park Institute, Florida...
said of Grennan:
- Few poets are as generous as Eamon Grennan in the sheer volume of delight his poems convey, and fewer still are as attentive to the marvels of the earth. To read him is to be led on a walk through the natural world of clover and cricket and, most of all, light, and to face with an open heart the complexity of being human.
Grennan was shortlisted for the 2008 Poetry Now Award
Poetry Now Award
The 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 his collection, Out of Breath.
Works
- Matter of Fact. St. Paul, MN: Graywolf, 2008.
- Out of Breath. Gallery Books, 2007.
- The Quick of It. St. Paul, MN: Graywolf, 2005.
- Sophocles, Oedipus at Colonus. Trans. with Rachel Kitzinger. Oxford, 2004.
- Renvyle, Winter. Philadelphia: Pointed Press, 2003.
- Still Life with Waterfall. St. Paul, MN: Graywolf, 2002.
- Selected & New Poems. Dublin: Gallery Press, 2000.
- Provincetown Sketches. Aralia Press, 2000.
- Facing the Music: Irish Poetry in the Twentieth Century. Omaha: Creighton University Press, 1999.
- Relations: New & Selected Poems. St. Paul, MN: Graywolf, 1998.
- Selected Poems of Giacomo Leopardi. Trans. Princeton: Lockert Library of Poetry in Translation, Princeton University Press, 1997.
- So It Goes. St. Paul, MN: Graywolf, 1995.
- As If It Matters. St. Paul, MN: Graywolf, 1992.
- What Light There Is and Other Poems. New York: North Point Press, 1989.
- Twelve Poems. San Francisco: Occasional Works, 1988.
- Wildly for Days. Dublin: Gallery Press, 1983.
- Cat Scat North Point Press, 1988.
In early 2007 he visited St.Paul's High School in Brooklandville, Maryland to discuss poetry.