Paula Meehan (born 1955) 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

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

Life

Paula Meehan was born in Dublin in 1955, the eldest of six children. She subsequently moved to London with her parents where she attended St. Elizabeth's Primary School in

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames, colloquially known as Kingston, is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, England. It is situated on the River Thames, south-west of Charing Cross. It is an ancient market town, notable as ...

. She then returned to Dublin with her family where she attended a number of primary schools finishing her primary education at the Central Model Girls' School off

Gardiner Street Gardiner Street () is a long Georgian architecture, Georgian street in Dublin, Ireland. It stretches from the River Liffey at its southern end via Mountjoy Square to Dorset Street, Dublin, Dorset Street at its northern end. The The Custom House, ...

. She began her secondary education at St. Michael's Holy Faith Convent in

Finglas Finglas (; ) is a northwestern outer suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It lies close to Junction 5 of the M50 motorway (Ireland), M50 motorway, and the N2 road (Ireland), N2 road. Nearby suburbs include Glasnevin and Ballymun; Du ...

but was expelled for organising a protest march against the regime of the school. She studied for her Intermediate Certificate on her own and then went to Whitehall House Senior College, a vocational school, to study for her

Leaving Certificate A secondary school leaving qualification is a document signifying that the holder has fulfilled any secondary education requirements of their locality, often including the passage of a final qualification examination. For each leaving certificate ...

. Outside school, she was a member of a dance drama group, became involved in band culture and, around 1970, began to write lyrics. Gradually composing song lyrics would give way to writing poetry. At

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 Univ ...

, (1972–1977) she studied English, History and Classical Civilization, taking five years to complete her

Bachelor of Arts degree A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

. This included one year off, spent travelling through Europe. While a student she was involved in street theatre and various kinds of performance. After college she travelled again, spending long stretches in Greece, Germany, Scotland and England. She was offered a teaching fellowship at

Eastern Washington University Eastern Washington University (EWU) is a public university in Cheney, Washington, United States. It shares its satellite campus in Spokane, Washington with Washington State University. Founded in 1882, the university is academically divided in ...

where she studied (1981–1983) with James J. McAuley in a two-year programme which led to a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...

degree in Poetry.

Gary Snyder Gary Snyder (born May 8, 1930) is an American poet, essayist, lecturer, and environmental activist. His early poetry has been associated with the Beat Generation and the San Francisco Renaissance and he has been described as the "poet laureate ...

and Carolyn Kizer were among the distinguished visiting writers to have a profound influence on her work and on her thought. She returned to Dublin in 1983.

Work

Meehan has also written poetry for film, for contemporary dance companies and for collaborations with visual artists; her poems have been put to music by songwriters (including

Christy Moore Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore (born 7 May 1945) is an Irish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. He was one of the founding members of the bands Planxty and Moving Hearts and has had significant success as a solo artist. His first albu ...

) and composers. Her poetry has been extensively published in translation, including substantial collections in French and German. The 2015 Poetry Competition 'A Poem for Ireland' shortlisted her 1991 poem 'The Statue of the Virgin at Granard Speaks' in the final ten poems. Meehan was a judge for the 2020

Griffin Poetry Prize The Griffin Poetry Prize is a Canadian poetry award. It was founded in 2000 by businessman and philanthropist Scott Griffin. Before 2022, two separate awards went to one Canadian and one international poet who writes in the English language. I ...

Recognition

In September 2013, Meehan was installed as the Ireland Professor of Poetry by President

Michael D. Higgins Michael Daniel Higgins (; born 18 April 1941) is an Irish politician, poet, broadcaster, and sociologist who has been serving as the president of Ireland since 2011. Entering national politics through the Labour Party, he served as a senator ...

. In 2023, she was elected an honorary fellow of

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 ...

References

External links

Paula Meehan's page on the site of her Irish publisher, Dedalus Press

Paula Meehan's page at Carcanet Press

Paula Meehan's page at Wake Forest University PressPoetry International site with several poems2009 video of Paula Meehan reading her poems
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meehan, Paula 1955 births Living people Irish women poets Irish women dramatists and playwrights Aosdána members Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Eastern Washington University alumni Honorary Fellows of Trinity College Dublin Writers from Dublin (city) 20th-century Irish poets 21st-century Irish poets 20th-century Irish women writers 21st-century Irish women writers 20th-century Irish dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Irish dramatists and playwrights