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Thomas Kinsella

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Thomas Kinsella

Thomas Kinsella. Courtesy Dedalus Press.

Thomas Kinsella (born 4 May 1928) is an Irish poet, whose "sensitive lyrics deal with primal aspects of the human experience, often in a specifically Irish context."[1]

Life[]

Overview[]

Born outside Dublin, Kinsella attended University College Dublin. After graduation he entered the civil service. He began publishing poetry in the early 1950s and, around the same time, translated early Irish poetry into English. In the 1960s, he moved to the United States to teach English at universities including Temple University. Kinsella continued to publish steadily until the 2010s.

Youth and education[]

Kinsella was born 4 May 1928 in Inchicore to Agnes (Casserly) and John Kinsella.[2] His brother was composer John Kinsella (1932–2021).[3]

He spent most of his childhood in the Kilmainham/Inchicore area of Dublin. He was educated at the Model School, Inchicore,[4] where classes were taught in the Irish language, and at the O'Connell Schools in North Richmond Street, Dublin. His father and grandfather both worked in Guinness's brewery.[5]

He entered University College Dublin in 1946, initially to study science. After a few terms in college, he took a post in the Irish civil service in the department of finance and continued his university studies at night, having switched to humanities and arts.[6]

Many of Kinsella's early poems were published in the University College Dublin magazine National Student from 1951 to 1953.[7]

Career[]

Kinsella's earliest pamphlet, The Starlit Eye (1952),[8] was published by Liam Miller's Dolmen Press,[9] as was Poems (1956), his debut book-length collection. These were followed by Another September (1958–1962),[2] Moralities (1960),[10] Downstream (1962),[10] Wormwood (1966), and the long poem Nightwalker (1967).[11]

At Miller's suggestion, Kinsella turned his attention to the translation of early Irish texts. He produced versions of Longes Mac Usnig and The Breastplate of St Patrick in 1954[12] and of Thirty-Three Triads in 1955. His most significant work in this area was collected in 2 volumes: The Táin (Dolmen, 1969; Oxford University Press, 1970),[10] a version of the Táin Bó Cúailnge illustrated by Louis le Brocquy.[13]

With Seán Ó Tuama, Kinsella co-edited An Duanaire: 1600–1900, Poems of the Dispossessed (1981), an anthology of Irish poems that critic Siobhán Holland describes as a "politicized deployment of the anthology genre".[14] He also edited Austin Clarke's Selected Poems[15] and Collected Poems (both 1974) for Dolmen and The New Oxford Book of Irish Verse (1986).[16]

According to critic Dillon Johnston, Kinsella's translations of Táin and An Duanaire have helped to "revitalize" the Irish literary canon.[17]

In 1965, Kinsella left the civil service to teach at Southern Illinois University, and in 1970 he became a professor of English at Temple University.[18] In 1973, he started Temple's Irish studies programme.[19]

In 1972, he started Peppercanister Press to publish his own work.

Kinsella died in Dublin on 22 December 2021, at the age of 93. His wife had Eleanor predeceased him in 2017.[20][21]

Writing[]

Beginning around 1968 with Nightwalker and Other Poems, Kinsella's work became more influenced by American modernist poetry,[22] particularly the poetry of Ezra Pound, William Carlos Williams,[16] and Robert Lowell. In addition, his poetry started to focus more on the individual psyche as seen through the work of [Carl Jung]].[23] These tendencies appeared in the poems of Notes from the Land of the Dead (1973) and One (1974).[24]

His earliest Peppercanister production was Butcher's Dozen, a satirical response to the Widgery Tribunal into the events of Bloody Sunday in 1972.[25] This poem drew on the aisling tradition.[26]

According to critic Thomas H. Jackson, books including Her Vertical Smile (1985), Out of Ireland (1987), and St Catherine's Clock (1987) blended personal and world-historical perspectives: "address a self, and you find the world; address an aspect of the world, and you find a self".[27] One Fond Embrace (1988) and Poems from Centre City (1990) allude to historical antecedents including Brian Merriman and medieval curse poetry to dissect contemporary events such as architectural development in Dublin.[28]

Recognition[]

An Duanaire won a "special award" of the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature in 1982.[29]

Kinsella received the honorary Freedom of the City of Dublin on 24 May 2007.[30]

In December 2018, he received an honorary doctorate from Trinity College Dublin.[31]

Publications[]

Poetry[]

  • The Starlit Eye. Dublin: Dolmen, 1952.
  • Three Legendary Sonnets. Dublin: Dolmen, 1952.
  • Poems. Dublin: Dolmen, 1956.
  • Another September. Dublin: Dolmen / Chester Springs, PA: Dufour 1958
  • Moralities. Dublin: Dolmen, 1960.
  • Poems and Translations. New York: Atheneum, 1961.
  • Downstream. Dublin: Dolmen / Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1962.
  • Wormwood. Dublin: Dolmen, 1966.
  • The Death of a Queen. Dublin: Dolmen, 1966.
  • Nightwalker. Dublin: Dolmen, 1967.
  • Nightwalker, and other poems. Dublin: Dolmen, 1968.
  • Poems (by Douglas Livingstone, Thomas Kinsella, & Anne Sexton). London & New York: Oxford University Press, 1968.[32]
  • Tear. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1969.
  • Notes from the Land of the Dead, and other poems. Dublin: Cuala Press, 1972; New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1973.
  • New Poems, 1973. Dublin: Dolmen, 1973.
  • Selected Poems, 1956-1968. Dublin: Dolmen, 1973
    • also published as Poems, 1956-1968. London & New York: Oxford University Press, 1974.
  • Finistere. Dublin: Dolmen, 1972.
  • One, and other poems. Dublin: Dolmen, 1979.
  • Peppercanister Poems, 1972-1978. Winston-Salem NC: Wake Forest University Press 1979, 1986.
  • Poems, 1956-1973. Dublin: Dolmen / Winston-Salem, NC: Wake Forest University Press, 1979.
  • One Fond Embrace. Dublin: Deerfield Press / Gallery Press, 1981.
  • Blood and Family (4 Peppercanister pamphlets). Oxford, UK, & London: Oxford University Press, 1988.
  • Collected Poems. Oxford, UK:Oxford University Press, 1996.
  • A Dublin Documentary. Dublin: O’Brien Press, 2006.
  • Selected Poems. Manchester, UK: Carcanet, 2007.

Peppercanister poetry pamphlets[]

  • Butcher’s Dozen: A lesson for the octave of widgery [Peppercanister 1]. Dublin: Peppercanister, 1972; Dublin: Dedalus, 1992.
  • A Selected Life [Peppercanister 2]. Dublin: Dolmen, 1972.
  • Vertical Man: A sequel to A Selected Life [Peppercanister 3]. Dublin: Dolmen, 1973.
  • The Good Fight: A poem for the tenth anniversary of the death of John F. Kennedy [Peppercanister 4]. Dublin: Dolmen, 1973.
  • One [Peppercanister 5]. Dublin: Dolmen, 1974.
  • A Technical Supplement [Peppercanister 6]. Dublin: Dolmen, 1976.
  • Song of the Night and Other Poems [Peppercanister 7]. Dublin: Dolmen, 1978.
  • The Messenger [Peppercanister 8]. Dublin: Dolmen, 1978.
  • Songs of the Psyche [Peppercanister 9]. Dublin: Dolmen, 1985.
  • Her Vertical Smile [Peppercanister 10]. Dublin: Peppercanister 1985.
  • Out of Ireland: A metaphysical love sequence [Peppercanister 11]. Dublin: Peppercanister, 1987.
  • St Catherine’s Clock [Peppercanister 12]. Dublin: Peppercanister 1987.
  • One Fond Embrace [Peppercanister 13]. Dublin: Dedalus, 1988.
  • Personal Places [Peppercanister 14]. Dublin: Dedalus, 1990.
  • Poems from Centre City [Peppercanister 15]. Dublin: Peppercanister, 1991.
  • Madonna, and other poems [Peppercanister 16]. Dublin: Peppercanister, 1991.
  • Open Court [Peppercanister 17], Dublin: Dedalus, 1991.
  • The Pen Shop [Peppercanister 19]. Dublin: Dedalus / Manchester, UK: Carcanet, 1997.
  • The Familiar [Peppercanister 20]. Dublin: Dedalus Press / Manchester, UK: Carcanet, 1999.
  • Godhead [Peppercanister 21]. Dublin: Dedalus / Manchester, UK: Carcanet, 1999.
  • Citizen of the World [Peppercanister 22]. Dublin: Dedalus / Manchester, UK: Carcanet, 2000.
  • Littlebody [Peppercanister 23]. Dublin: Dedalus / Manchester, UK: Carcanet, 2000).
  • Marginal Economy. [Peppercanister 24]. Dublin: Dedalus / Manchester, UK: Carcanet, 2006.
  • Man of War [Peppercanister, 26]. Dublin: Dedalus, 2007.
  • Belief and Unbelief [Peppercanister, 27]. Dublin: Dedalus, 2007.

Non-fiction[]

  • The Dual Tradition: An essay on poetry and politics in Ireland [Peppercanister, No. 18]. Manchester, UK: Carcanet 1995.
  • Readings in Poetry [Peppercanister 25]. Dublin: Dedalus / Manchester, UK: Carcanet, 2006), 49pp.

Translated[]

  • An Duanaire = Poems of the Dispossessed: An anthology of Gaelic poems (edited by Seán Ó Tuama). Portlaoise: Dolmen Press, 1981.
  • The Sons of Usnech. Dublin: Dolmen, 1954
    • (illustrated by Bridget Swinton). Dublin: Dolmen, 1960.
  • The Táin, translated from the Irish epic Táin Bó Cúailnge (illustrated by Louis le Brocquy). Dublin: Dolmen, 1969; London & New York: Oxford University Press, 1970.

Edited[]

  • Dolmen Miscellany of Irish Writing (edited with John Montague). Dublin: Dolmen, 1962.
  • The New Oxford Book of Irish Verse (with numerous of his own translations). London: Oxford University Press, 1986.


Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy Ricorso.net.[33]

Audio / video[]

Thomas_Kinsella_Reading

Thomas Kinsella Reading

  • Fair Eleanor, O Christ Thee Save. Claddagh Records, 1971.
  • Thomas Kinsella - Poems 1956-2006. Claddagh Records, 2007.

See also[]

References[]

Notes[]

  1. ↑ Thomas Kinsella, Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., Britannica.com, Web, May 18, 2012.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Abbate Badin 1996, p. xiii.
  3. ↑ "Self-taught symphonist" (in en). 1998-01-09. https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/self-taught-symphonist-1.122465. 
  4. ↑ Abbate Badin 1996, p. 3.
  5. ↑ Fitzsimons 2008, p. 156.
  6. ↑ Byrne, Andrea (22 March 2009). "Kinsella's wife reveals her hurt at the poet's words of love". Irish Independent. https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/kinsellas-wife-reveals-her-hurt-at-the-poets-words-of-love-26522803.html. 
  7. ↑ Abbate Badin 1996, p. 4.
  8. ↑ Harmon 1974, p. 123.
  9. ↑ McAuliffe 2012, p. 227.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Abbate Badin 1996, p. xiv.
  11. ↑ "Thomas Kinsella" (in en). Poetry Foundation. 8 September 2020. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/thomas-kinsella. 
  12. ↑ Abbate Badin 1996, p. 5.
  13. ↑ O'Donoghue, Bernard (2013). "Kinsella, Thomas". The Oxford Companion to Modern Poetry (2d ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 321–322. ISBN 978-0-19-964025-6. OCLC 825557412. 
  14. ↑ Hutton 2011, p. 177.
  15. ↑ Rosenthal, M. L. (1976-09-19). "Selected Poems" (in en-US). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/1976/09/19/archives/selected-poems-a-slow-dance-the-new-estate.html. 
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Jeffares, A. Norman; Bolger, Muriel (2014). A Short History of Ireland's Writers. Dublin: O'Brien Press. pp. 181–183. ISBN 978-1-84717-645-5. OCLC 881399463. 
  17. ↑ Johnston 1985, p. 97.
  18. ↑ Stewart, William (2007). British and Irish Poets: A Biographical Dictionary, 449–2006. McFarland & Company. p. 216. ISBN 978-0-7864-5109-8. OCLC 614571616. 
  19. ↑ Fryatt, Kit (2008). Byrne, James Patrick. ed. Ireland and the Americas: Culture, Politics, and History: a Multidisciplinary Encyclopedia. 2. ABC-Clio. pp. 504–505. ISBN 978-1-85109-614-5. https://books.google.com/books?id=agfvVQnBu9MC. 
  20. ↑ Cowell, Alan (2021-12-23). "Thomas Kinsella, Evocative Irish Poet, Is Dead at 93" (in en-US). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/23/obituaries/thomas-kinsella-dead.html. 
  21. ↑ Smyth, Gerard (22 December 2021). "Thomas Kinsella, one of Ireland's finest poets, has died, aged 93". The Irish Times. https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/thomas-kinsella-one-of-ireland-s-finest-poets-has-died-aged-93-1.4762187. 
  22. ↑ Davis 2001, p. 38.
  23. ↑ Jackson 1995, pp. 87–89.
  24. ↑ Campbell 2003, p. 85.
  25. ↑ Matthews 1997, p. 74.
  26. ↑ Campbell 2003, p. 13.
  27. ↑ Jackson 1995, p. 142.
  28. ↑ John 1996, pp. 247–248.
  29. ↑ "Book News". The Irish Times: p. A5. 20 June 1987. Template:ProQuest. 
  30. ↑ Hennessy, Michelle (2021-12-22). "'One of our greatest poets': Tributes paid after death of Thomas Kinsella" (in en). https://www.thejournal.ie/thomas-kinsella-5638858-Dec2021/. 
  31. ↑ "Honorary Degrees 2018-19". Trinity College Dublin. https://www.tcd.ie/registrar/honorary-degrees/2018-19/. 
  32. ↑ Search results = au:Douglas Livingstone, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Nov. 15, 2014.
  33. ↑ Works, Thomas Kinsella, Ricorso.net. Web, Oct. 24, 2014.

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