Gabriel Rosenstock is an Irish poet

Poetry

Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...

, haiku

Haiku

' , plural haiku, is a very short form of Japanese poetry typically characterised by three qualities:* The essence of haiku is "cutting"...

 writer, translator and author

Author

An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

. He was born in Kilfinane

Kilfinane

Kilfinane is a small market town ) County Limerick, Ireland. The Town's name comes from the Irish words "Cill" and "Fhíonáin" , making its meaning "Church of Saint Finian." Kilfinane is located approximately 40 km southeast of Limerick, and approximately 70 km north-northwest of Cork...

, County Limerick

County Limerick

It is thought that humans had established themselves in the Lough Gur area of the county as early as 3000 BC, while megalithic remains found at Duntryleague date back further to 3500 BC...

 in 1949. He currently resides in Dublin.

Biography

Rosenstock's father George was a doctor

Physician

A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...

 and writer from Schleswig-Holstein

Schleswig-Holstein

Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...

; he was in the Wehrmacht

Wehrmacht

The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...

, fought in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. His mother a nurse from County Galway

County Galway

County Galway is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the city of Galway. Galway County Council is the local authority for the county. There are several strongly Irish-speaking areas in the west of the county...

. Gabriel was the third of six children and the first born in Ireland

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...

. He attended Rockwell College

Rockwell College

Rockwell College, founded in 1864, is a private Catholic secondary school near Cashel, South Tipperary in Ireland. It offers day as well as full boarding. Rockwell is run by the Holy Ghost Fathers.-Politics:...

 and the National University of Ireland, Cork.

Rosenstock worked for some time on the television series Anois is Arís on RTÉ

Raidió Teilifís Éireann

Raidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making...

, then on the weekly newspaper Anois. Until his retirement he worked with An Gúm

An Gúm

An Gúm was an Irish state company tasked with the publication of Irish literature, especially educational materials.The agency is now part of Foras na Gaeilge. Its mission statement is "To produce publications and resources in support of Irish-medium education and of the use of Irish in general."...

, the publications branch of the North-South body which promotes the Irish language, Foras na Gaeilge

Foras na Gaeilge

Foras na Gaeilge is the governing body of the Irish language, responsible for the promotion of the language throughout the island of Ireland. Its name can be translated into English as "The Irish Language Body", although the body has no official English-language name...

.

Although he has worked in prose

Prose

Prose is the most typical form of written language, applying ordinary grammatical structure and natural flow of speech rather than rhythmic structure...

, drama

Play (theatre)

A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...

 and translation

Translation

Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...

, Rosenstock is primarily known as a poet. He has written or translated over one hundred books.

Rosenstock is a member of Aosdána

Aosdána

Aosdána is an Irish association of Artists. It was created in 1981 on the initiative of a group of writers and with support from the Arts Council of Ireland. Membership, which is by invitation from current members, is limited to 250 individuals; before 2005 it was limited to 200...

, and a former chairman of Poetry Ireland

Poetry Ireland

Poetry Ireland is an organisation for poets and poetry, in both Irish and English, in the island of Ireland. It is a public body that receives support from The Arts Council of Ireland and The Arts Council of Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1978 by John F. Deane and is based in Proud's Lane,...

. Two of his more recent works are Eachtraí Krishnamurphy (2003) and Krishnamurphy Ambaist (2004). His travel book Ólann mo mhiúil as an nGainséis (2003) provides an insight his beliefs, intellectual life, and philosophy

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

.

His son Tristan Rosenstock is a member of the traditional Irish quintet Téada

Téada

Téada is a traditional Irish music group from Ireland. The band comprises five members. The members are Oisín Mac Diarmada who plays the Téada is a traditional [[Irish music]] group from [[Ireland]]. The band comprises five members. The members are [[Oisín Mac Diarmada]] who plays the Téada is a...

, and actor Mario Rosenstock

Mario Rosenstock

Mario Rosenstock born 31 August 1971, is an Irish actor, comedian, impressionist and musician who is best known for his parody music singles and his role in the Gift Grub comedy series on Irish radio station Today FM....

 is his nephew.

Poetry in Irish

• Susanne sa seomra folctha Clódhanna 1973
• Méaram An Clóchomhar 1981
• Om An Clóchomhar 1983
• Nihil Obstat Coiscéim
  Coiscéim
  Coiscéim is a prolific Dublin-based Irish-language publisher founded by writer, artist and language activist Pádraig Ó Snodaigh in 1980. Well-known authors who have published with Coiscéim include Gabriel Rosenstock, Alan Titley, Michael Davitt, Michael Hartnett, Biddy Jenkinson, Tomás Mac Síomóin,...
  
  , 1984
• Migmars Ababúna, 1985
• Rún na gCaisleán Taibhse, 1986
• Oráistí. Rogha dánta agus dánta nua Cló Iar Chonnachta, 1991
• Ní mian léi an fhilíocht níos mó Cló Iar-Chonnachta, 1993
• Rogha Rosenstock Cló Iar-Chonnachta, 1994
• Lacertidae 1994
• Syójó Cló Iar-Chonnachta, 2001
• Eachtraí Krishnamurphy Coiscéim, 2003
• Forgotten Whispers / Cogair dhearúdta 2003. (Haiku with photography by John Minihan)
• Krishnamurphy Ambaist Coiscéim, 2004
• Hymn to the Earth The Silverstrand Press, 2004. (Poems and photography by Ron Rosenstock)
• Rogha Dánta/ Selected Poems, translated by Paddy Bushe: CIC, 2005

Criticism in Irish

• Ólann mo mhiúil as an nGainséis Cló Iar-Chonnachta, 2003 ISBN 1-902420-78-0, 9781902420783

Poetry in English

• Cold Moon: The Erotic Haiku of Gabriel Rosenstock, 1993
• Forgotten Whispers, 2003, with John Minihan. Haiku
• Portrait of the Artist as an Abominable Snowman. Selected Poems, translated from the Irish by Michael Hartnett, and New Poems, translated by Jason Sommer, Forest Books, 1989

Translations

• March hare, 1994. Short stories from the Irish language author Pádraic Breathnach
  Pádraic Breathnach
  Pádraic Breathnach, Irish actor, performer, writer and television producer, born c. 1950.A fluent Irish speaker, Pádraic grew up in Carna, Connemara. As a student in NUI Galway, he was deeply involved with An Cumann Drámaíochta and Dramsoc, where he teamed up with Ollie Jennings in a series of...
  
  

External links

• Poems of Gabriel Rosenstock in German translation (Poetenladen) . Accessed 2008-10-15
• Geometry of Light / Geometrie des Lichts, a haiku series in German and English, by Gabriel Rosenstock (Lishanu). Accessed 2008-10-15
• I Met A Man ... a book of poetry, by Gabriel Rosenstock. Accessed 2010-03-25