Michael Donaghy (May 24, 1954 – September 16, 2004) was a

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

poet and musician, who lived in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

from 1985.

Life and career

Donaghy was born into an Irish family and grew up with his sister Patricia in the

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, New York, losing both parents in their early thirties. He studied at

Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...

and did postgraduate work at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

, where, at 25, he edited the ''

Chicago Review ''Chicago Review'' is a student-run literary magazine founded in 1946 and published quarterly in the Humanities Division at the University of Chicago. The magazine features contemporary poetry, fiction, and criticism, often publishing works in tr ...

''. Donaghy commented: "I owe everything I know about poetry to the public library system (in New York City) and not to my miseducation at university ..I mean, the Bronx, who knows, now it may be full of cappuccino bars and bookshops, but back in those days it wasn't. My parents would say something like 'go out and play in the burning wreckage until dinnertime' and I'd make a beeline for the library." He founded the acclaimed Irish music ensemble Samradh Music and played the tin whistle, the bodhran and was a flute player of distinction, music echoing in the themes and forms of his writing. In 1985, he moved to just off Green Lanes in

Harringay Harringay (pronounced ) is a district of north London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is centred on the section of Green Lanes running between the New River, where it crosses Green Lanes by Finsbury Park, and Duckett's ...

, north London to join his partner and fellow musician, Maddy Paxman, whom he married in 2003; their son, Ruairi Donaghy, was born in 1996. He joined the London poetry workshop, founded by the

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

poet Robert Greacen and later chaired by Matthew Sweeney, whose members included Vicki Feaver,

Ruth Padel Ruth Sophia Padel FRSL FZS (born 8 May 1946) is a British poet, novelist and non-fiction author. Life She studied Greek at Oxford, where she sang in Schola Cantorum of Oxford, wrote a PhD on ancient Greek poetry, and was a Research Fellow at W ...

Jo Shapcott Jo Shapcott (born 24 March 1953 in London) is an English poet, editor and lecturer who has won the National Poetry Competition, the Commonwealth Poetry Prize, the Costa Book of the Year Award, a Forward Prizes for Poetry and the Cholmondele ...

, Maurice Riordan,

Eva Salzman Eva Salzman (born 1960) is a contemporary American poet. Eva Salzman was born in 1960 in New York City to musicologist/composer Eric Salzman and activist/writer Lorna Salzman. She grew up in Brooklyn, where, from the age of 10 until 22, she was a ...

and Don Paterson. Rapidly establishing himself on the poetry scene, he published his first full collection, ''Shibboleth'', in 1988 - the title poem of which won second prize in the 1987 National Poetry Competition. ''Errata'' followed in 1993, and ''Conjure'' in 2000. Recognition came in the form of the

Geoffrey Faber Sir Geoffrey Cust Faber (23 August 1889, Great Malvern – 31 March 1961) was a British academic, publisher, and poet. He was a nephew of the noted Catholic convert and hymn writer, Father Frederick William Faber, C.O., founder of the Brompton ...

and Cholmondeley awards and the

Whitbread Whitbread is a British multinational hotel and restaurant company headquartered in Houghton Regis, England. The business was founded as a brewery in 1742 by Samuel Whitbread in partnership with Godfrey and Thomas Shewell, with premises in L ...

and Forward prizes, among others. In 2003, he teamed up with

Cyborg A cyborg (, a portmanteau of ''cybernetics, cybernetic'' and ''organism'') is a being with both Organic matter, organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.Kevin Warwick Kevin Warwick (born 9 February 1954) is an English engineer and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) at Coventry University. He is known for his studies on direct interfaces between computer systems and the human nervous system, and has also done ...

and wrote ''Grimoire''.Crawford, R. (ed.), (2006), ''Contemporary Poetry and Contemporary Science'', Oxford University Press. He continued to play in various Irish music groups, as well as the early line-up of

Lammas Lammas (from Old English ''hlāfmæsse'', "loaf-mass"), also known as Loaf Mass Day, is a Christian holiday celebrated in some English-speaking world, English-speaking countries on 1 August. The name originates from the word "loaf" in referenc ...

, the jazz/traditional crossover band led by Tim Garland and poet Don Paterson. He was a creative writing tutor for the

Arvon Foundation The Arvon Foundation is a charitable organisation in the United Kingdom that promotes creative writing. Arvon is one of Arts Council England's National Portfolio Organisations. Andrew Kidd is the Chief Executive Officer, and Patricia Cumper is ...

and the

Poetry Society The Poetry Society is a membership organisation, open to all, whose stated aim is "to promote the study, use and enjoyment of poetry". The society was founded in London in February 1909 as the Poetry Recital Society, becoming the Poetry Society ...

and later ran an extension course for

City University London City, University of London was a public university from 1966 to 2024 in London, England. It merged with St George's, University of London to form City St George's, University of London in August 2024. The names "City, University of London" and ...

, as well as teaching poetry classes at

Birkbeck College Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a public research university located in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. Established in 1823 as the London Mechanics' ...

, London, which awards an annual prize in his name. He wrote and reviewed for ''

Poetry Review ''The Poetry Review'' is the magazine of The Poetry Society, edited by the poet Wayne Holloway-Smith. Founded in 1912, shortly after the establishment of the Society, previous editors have included poets Muriel Spark, Adrian Henri, Andrew Mo ...

'', ''

Poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

'', ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' and The ''

Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

''. His poetry, influential to a younger generation of poets, is noted for its metaphysical elegance and playfulness, and his skillful use of form.

Death

He died suddenly of a

brain haemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as hemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain (i.e. the parenchyma), into its ventricles, or into both. An ICH is a type of bleeding within the skull and one kind of stro ...

on September 16, 2004.Sean O'Brien
"Michael Donaghy" (obituary)
''The Guardian'', 24 September 2004. David Wheatley wrote in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'': "The death of Michael Donaghy in 2004 at the age of 50 has been one of the most deeply felt losses to the poetry world in recent years. Not since

Sylvia Plath Sylvia Plath (; October 27, 1932 – February 11, 1963) was an American poet and author. She is credited with advancing the genre of confessional poetry and is best known for '' The Colossus and Other Poems'' (1960), '' Ariel'' (1965), a ...

almost half a century ago had an American poet living in Britain so decisively entered the bloodstream of his times." ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' described him as "one of the most widely respected figures on the British poetry scene and a fierce defender of poetry as a source of pleasure and truth."''Times'' article September 25, 2004 "Michael Donaghy"
/ref> His fourth collection ''Safest'' was published posthumously in 2005 and a prose collection ''The Shape of the Dance'' in 2009.David Wheatley
"Between the flash and the report"
(book review), ''The Guardian'', 4 April 2009.

Honours and awards

*1987: National Poetry Competition (2nd Prize) *1989: Whitbread Prize for Poetry *1990:

Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize The Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize is a British literary prize established in 1963 in tribute to Geoffrey Faber, founder and first Chairman of the publisher Faber & Faber. It recognises a single volume of poetry or fiction by a United Kingdom, Iri ...

*1992: Arts Council Writers Award *1994: Selected for

New Generation Poets The New Generation Poets is a group of 1994 British poets whose work was featured in a month-long nationwide festival, many of the writers going on to considerable popular success. The 20 poets were chosen by a panel of judges comprising Melvyn Brag ...

Promotion *1999: Arts Council Writers Award *1999: The

Reader in Residence *1999:

Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the ...

*2000:

Poetry Book Society The Poetry Book Society (PBS) is a British subscription-based book club dedicated to selecting, recommending and publicising new poetry books. Every quarter, it selects two Poetry Book Society Choices and four Poetry Book Society Recommendations. ...

Choice, Conjure *2000:

Forward Poetry Prize The Forward Prizes for Poetry are major British awards for poetry, presented annually at a public ceremony in London. They were founded in 1992 by William Sieghart with the aim of celebrating excellence in poetry and increasing its audience. The ...

(Best Collection) for ''Conjure''

Selected works

*1988 ''Shibboleth'', Oxford University Press *1993 ''Errata'', Oxford University Press *1997 ''Penguin Modern Poets 11'' (contributor with

Andrew Motion Sir Andrew Peter Motion (born 26 October 1952) is an English poet, novelist, and biographer, who was Poet Laureate from 1999 to 2009. During the period of his laureateship, Motion founded the Poetry Archive, an online resource of poems and a ...

and

Hugo Williams Hugo Williams (born Hugh Anthony Mordaunt Vyner Williams on 20 February 1942) is an English poet, journalist and travel writer. He received the T. S. Eliot Prize in 1999 and Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry in 2004. Family and early life Will ...

), London: Penguin *2000 ''Dances Learned Last Night: Poems 1975-1995'', London: Picador *2000 ''Conjure'' Picador *2005 ''101 Poems about Childhood'' (editor), London: Faber & Faber *2005 ''Michael Donaghy Reading from his poems'' (CD), The Poetry Archive *2009 ''Collected Poems'', Picador (posthumous) *2009 ''The Shape of the Dance: Essays, Interviews and Digressions'' Picador (posthumous)

References

External links

Profile and audio recordings of Donaghy reading. Poetry Archive
* Seán O'Brien
"Michael Donaghy"
(obituary), ''The Guardian'', 24 September 2004
Michael Donaghy
at the Literary Encyclopedia
Two poems
by Michael Donaghy
"The Unconscious Power of Form: John Stammers interviews Michael Donaghy"
''Magma'' No. 8 - Winter 1996
"Michael Donaghy"
Fellows Remembered,

The Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 800 Fellows, electe ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donaghy, Michael 1954 births 2004 deaths Academics of Birkbeck, University of London Academics of City, University of London American people of Irish descent American male poets Formalist poets People from Harringay Fordham University alumni Musicians from the Bronx University of Chicago alumni 20th-century American poets 20th-century American musicians Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature 20th-century American male writers American emigrants to England