Moya Cannon (born 1956) is an Irish writer and poet with seven published collections, the most recent being ''Collected Poems'' (

Carcanet Press Carcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom. Originally a student magazine devised by undergraduates collaborating between Oxford and Cambridge, it was refounded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt. In 2000 it was nam ...

, Manchester, 2021).

Life

Born in

Dunfanaghy Dunfanaghy () is a small town, former fishing port, and commercial centre on the north coast of County Donegal, Ireland. It lies on Donegal's North West coast, specifically the west side of Sheephaven Bay, on the N56 road (the West Donegal Coas ...

, County Donegal, Ireland, Moya Cannon studied history and politics at

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 at Corpus Christi College,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

. She then moved to

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

where she worked as a teacher. For several years she taught in a special school for adolescent traveller children. In addition, she taught courses in creative writing at the

National University of Ireland The National University of Ireland (NUI) () is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called '' constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under the Irish Universities Act 1908, and signifi ...

, Galway and was co-director of The International Writers’ Course at NUIG. Her ''Collected Poems'' has been published by Carcanet Press, Manchester (2021). Her sixth collection, ''Donegal Tarantella'', was issued by Carcanet Press in 2019. In her poems, history, archaeology, prehistoric art, geology and music figure as gateways to a deeper understanding of our relationship with the earth and with our past. Migration is a core theme, the migrations of birds, of people, of culture. Her first published collection ''Oar'' (

Salmon Poetry ''Salmon Poetry'' is an Irish and international book-publishing company. It was founded in 1987 in Ireland by poet Jessie Lendennie as a platform for new Irish and international poetry in English. History Founded in Galway, the press moved to C ...

, 1990, Poolbeg Press, 1994, and

Gallery Press Gallery Press is an independent Irish publishing company, publishing Irish poetry, drama, and prose by contemporary Irish writers. Founded by poet Peter Fallon as the Gallery Books imprint of Tara Telephone Publications, itself an offshoot of a ...

, 2000) won the 1991 Brendan Behan Memorial Award. She has been invited to read in Ireland, Europe, the Americas (North and South), Japan and India. Bilingual selections of her work have been published in Spanish, Portuguese, and German. A recipient of the O'Shaughnessy Award from the University of St. Thomas, St Paul, Minnesota in 2001; she was Heimbold Professor of Irish Studies at

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Saint Thom ...

in 2011. She has been editor of

Poetry Ireland Review ''Poetry Ireland Review'' is a journal of Irish poetry published three times a year by Poetry Ireland, the national Irish poetry organisation. ''Poetry Ireland Review'' publishes the work of both emerging and established Irish and internation ...

and is a member of

Aosdána Aosdána ( , ; from , 'people of the arts') is an Irish association or academy of artists, each of whom must have produced a distinguished body of work of genuine originality. It was created in 1981 by the country's Arts Council on the initiati ...

Bibliography

* ''Donegal Tarantella'' (2019) * ''Keats Lives'' (2015) * ''Hands'' (2011) * ''Carrying the Songs'' (2007) * ''Winter Birds'' (2005) * ''The Parchment Boat'' (1997) * ''Oar'' (1990)

Translations

* ''Aves De Invierno Y Otros Poemas'' (2015) * ''Dos Poetas Irlandesas'' (2018) * ''Ein Privates Land'' (2017) * ''Melodias Migratorias'' (2017)

References

External links

Carcanet Press - Moya CannonAosdána General Assembly

* View readings in th
Irish Poetry Reading ArchiveUCD Digital LibraryUniversity College Dublin

Interview with Moya Cannon
by Patrick O'Donnell as part of the O'Shaughnessy Poetry Award by the University of St. Thomas Center for Irish Studies, St. Paul, Minnesota (March 27, 2001) 20th-century Irish poets Aosdána members 1956 births Living people Irish women poets People from Dunfanaghy Alumni of University College Dublin 20th-century Irish women writers 21st-century Irish poets 21st-century Irish women writers Writers from County Donegal {{Ireland-poet-stub