Francis Arthur Ormsby (born 1947) is a
Northern Irish
Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...
author and poet.
Life
Frank Ormsby was born in
Irvinestown
Irvinestown is a town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. In 2011 it had a population of 2,267 people. The most notable buildings are Necarne Castle, formerly known as Castle Irvine, and Castle Archdale. Irvinestown is situated within Ferman ...
,
County Fermanagh
County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland.
The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 ...
. He was educated at
St Michael's College, Enniskillen
St Michael's College (Irish: ''Coláiste Mhíchíl'') is a Roman Catholic boys' grammar school located in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland.
Named for St Michael the Archangel, the school educates boys in County Fermanagh and the surrounding area ...
and then
Queen's University Belfast
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From 1976 until his retirement in 2010, he was Head of English at the
Royal Belfast Academical Institution.
Work
Over a period of fifty years he has published ten books of poetry and has also edited another ten collections.
From 1969 to 1989 he was editor of ''
The Honest Ulsterman''.
He has also edited the ''
Poetry Ireland Review''.
Ormsby was appointed as the
Ireland Professor of Poetry
The position of Ireland Professor of Poetry is an academic chair, jointly administered in trust by Queen's University Belfast, Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and the Arts Council. The post ...
in 2019, to serve a three-year term at
Trinity College Dublin
, name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin
, motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin)
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,
Queen's University Belfast
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and
University College Dublin
University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...
.
Bibliography
Poetry collections
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Edited volumes
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* ''Northern Windows: An Anthology of Ulster Autobiography'', Belfast: Blackstaff Press, 1987.
* ''The Long Embrace: Twentieth Century Irish Love Poems'', London: Faber & Faber, 1987.
* ''Thine in Storm and Calm: An Amanda McKittrick Ros Reader'', Belfast: Blackstaff Press, 1988.
*.
* ''The Collected Poems of John Hewitt'', Belfast: Blackstaff Press, 1991.
* ''A Rage for Order: Poetry of the Northern Ireland Troubles'', Belfast: Blackstaff Press, 1992.
* ''The Hip Flask: Short Poems from Ireland'', Belfast: Blackstaff Press, 2001.
* ''The Blackbird's Nest: An Anthology of Poetry from Queen's University Belfast'', Belfast: Blackstaff Press, 2006.
* ''The Selected Poems of John Hewitt'' (co-edited with
Michael Longley
Michael Longley, (born 27 July 1939, Belfast, Northern Ireland), is an Anglo-Irish poet.
Life and career
One of twin boys, Michael Longley was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, to English parents, Longley was educated at the Royal Belfast A ...
), Belfast: Blackstaff Press, 2007.
Recordings
* ''the kiss of light'', Frank Ormsby, Anthony Toner, Neil Martin, Linley Hamilton. Frank Ormsby reads his poems followed in each case by a musical composition inspired by the poems. Dozens of Cousins CD.
List of poems
Prizes and awards
* 2002 - Lawrence O’Shaughnessy Award for Poetry,
University of Saint Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota
* 1992 - Cultural Traditions Award, given in memory of
John Hewitt,
References
External links
"Some Older American Poets by Frank Ormsby" theguardian.com, 17 October 2009.
* Carol Rumens
"Poem of the week: Fireflies by Frank Ormsby" ''The Guardian'', 19 December 2011.
Frank Ormsby's ''Bog Cotton'' NewYorker.com, 4 March 2013.
Frank Ormsby's Parkinsons BBC Radio 4, 26 November 2017.
Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library Emory University
Frank Ormsby papers, circa 1967-2012*
See also
*
List of Northern Irish writers
1947 births
20th-century Irish people
Living people
People educated at St Michael's College, Enniskillen
People from Irvinestown
Male poets from Northern Ireland
The New Yorker people
Date of birth missing (living people)
Male writers from Northern Ireland
21st-century writers from Northern Ireland
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