Doireann Ní Ghríofa
Doireann Ní Ghríofa is an Irish poet who writes in both Irish and English.
Biography
She was born in Galway in 1981, but grew up in County Clare. She now lives in Cork. She holds an M.A. in Modern Irish Literature (UCC).[1]
Ní Ghríofa has published widely in literary magazines in Ireland and abroad, such as The Irish Times, Irish Examiner, Prairie Schooner, The Stinging Fly, Southword and Feasta.[2] In 2012, her poem "Fáinleoga" won the Wigtown Award for poetry written in Gaelic (Scotland).[3] In 2016, her book 'Clasp' was shortlisted for The Irish Times Poetry Now Award, the national poetry prize of Ireland.[4] She was one of the prize-winners in the emerging writer category at the Oireachtas literary awards in 2010.
She has been shortlisted in many other competitions including the Jonathan Swift Award (2012), the Venture Award (2012), and the Strokestown Poetry Prize (2014).
She has received two literature bursaries from the Arts Council of Ireland (2011 and 2013).[5]
Ní Ghríofa was selected for the prestigious Ireland Chair of Poetry Bursary Award 2014 - 2015.[6]
Bibliography
Poetry collections
- Résheoid (Coiscéim, 2011)
- Dúlasair (Coiscéim, 2012)
- Dordéan, do Chroí / A Hummingbird, your Heart (Smithereens Press, 2014)[7]
- Clasp (Dedalus Press, 2015; ISBN 978-1910251027)
Critical Response
Of Ní Ghríofa's book Clasp, Maya Catherine Popa in Poetry wrote: "The poems excel in their consideration of motherhood, particularly its paradoxical losses and gains, separation and unity… In Ní Ghríofa’s English debut, what seem to be long-considered obsessions are explored with tenderness and unflinching curiosity. The collection’s section titles, “Clasp,” “Cleave,” “Clench,” suggest the muscularity of attachment to the past, place, and the body that drives the poetic impulse." [8]
According to Clíona Ní Riordáin of Southword Journal, "The woman’s body is central to the collection, highlighted, visible, unconquered. Forgotten bones are reclaimed, gendered territory is staked out; it is clear that Ní Ghríofa’s has a voice which will not be silenced… In Clasp Ní Ghríofa has signalled that she is a poetic force to be reckoned with” [9]
Notes
- ↑ "Poet shortlisted for American award", The Clare Champion.
- ↑ Doireann Ní Ghríofa, Ennis Bookclub Festival.
- ↑ "2012 Winners - Gaelic", Wigtown Book Festival.
- ↑ "2016 Poetry Now Shortlist
- ↑ Philip Casey, "Ní Ghríofa, Doireann", Irish Writers Online.
- ↑ Gerard Beirne, "Doireann Ní Ghríofa selected for the Ireland Chair of Poetry Bursary Award", Numéro Cinq.
- ↑ "SP8 - 'Dordéan, do Chroí -- A Hummingbird, your Heart' by Doireann Ní Ghríofa", Smithereens Press.
- ↑ "Poetry Magazine Review"
- ↑ "Southword Review"