Aidan Mathews, sometimes Aidan Carl Mathews, (born 1956) is an Irish

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

and

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. Ben Jonson coined the term "playwri ...

born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Life

He was educated at

Gonzaga College Gonzaga College SJ is a voluntary Catholic boys' secondary school in Ranelagh, Dublin, Ireland. Founded in 1950, Gonzaga College is under the trusteeship of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuit Order), one of five Jesuit secondary schools in Ir ...

, Dublin and

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

and holds an MA from

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

. He works as a drama producer in

RTÉ Radio RTÉ Radio is a division and service of Irish public broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), which broadcasts four analogue channels and five digital channels across Ireland. Founded in January 1926 as 2RN, was the first broadcaster in ...

. Mathews has taught English at St. Louis High School, Rathmines and at

Belvedere College Belvedere College Society of Jesus, S.J. (sometimes St Francis Xavier's College) is a fee-paying voluntary secondary school for boys in Dublin, Ireland. Formally established in 1832 at Hardwicke Street in north inner city Dublin, the school was ...

, Dublin. His poetry and short stories have been included in many anthologies. He lives in

County Dublin County Dublin ( or ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and holds its capital city, Dublin. It is located on the island's east coast, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Until 1994, County Dubli ...

and is married with two daughters, Lucy and Laura. Mathews won the

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

Award in 1974; The Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award in 1976; the Macauley Fellowship (awarded by the

Arts Council (Ireland) The Arts Council (sometimes called the Arts Council of Ireland; legally ) is the independent "Irish government agency for developing the arts". About It was established in 1951 by the government of Ireland, to encourage interest in Irish art ( ...

) in 1978–9; the Ina Coolbrith Poetry Prize in 1981; and an Academy of American Poets Award in 1982.

Publications

Poetry books

* ''Windfalls'' (The

Dolmen Press Dolmen Press was an Irish book publisher founded by Liam and Josephine Miller in 1951. History In 1951 Liam acquired an Adana hand press from Blanaid and Cecil Ffrench Salkeld on loan which they had used for their Gayfield Press, with a cas ...

, 1977) * ''Minding Ruth'' (The Gallery Press, 1983) * ''According to the Small Hours'' (

Jonathan Cape Jonathan Cape is a British publishing firm headquartered in London and founded in 1921 by Herbert Jonathan Cape, who was head of the firm until his death. Cape and his business partner Wren Howard (1893–1968) set up the publishing house in ...

, 1998)

Plays

* ''The Antigone'' (Project Arts Centre, Dublin) (1984) * ''The Diamond Body'' (Project Arts Centre, Dubin)(1984) * ''Entrance, Exit'' (The Peacock Theatre, Dublin) * ''Communion'' (The Peacock Theatre 2003)

Short fiction

* ''Adventures in a Bathyscope'' (

Secker & Warburg Harvill Secker is a British publishing company formed in 2005 from the merger of Secker & Warburg and the Harvill Press. History Secker & Warburg Secker & Warburg was formed in 1935 from a takeover of Martin Secker, which was in receivership, ...

, 1988) * ''Lipstick on the Host'' (Secker & Warburg, 1992)

Novel

* ''Muesli at Midnight'' (Secker & Warburg, 1990)

Editor

* Editor of ''Immediate Man: Cuimhni ar Chearbhall Ó Dalaigh. A Tribute to Ireland's Former President'' ( Colin Smythe, 1983).

Bibliography

* Harry White: "Aidan Carl Mathews", in: ''The UCD Aesthetic'', ed. Anthony Roche (Dublin, 2005), pp. 239–245.

References

External links

Mathews entry at Irish Writers Online
1956 births 20th-century Irish poets Living people People educated at Gonzaga College Writers from County Dublin Faculty of Belvedere College Alumni of University College Dublin Alumni of Trinity College Dublin {{Ireland-writer-stub