Rita Ann Higgins (born 1955) is an Irish poet and playwright.

Early life

A native of Ballybrit,

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 ...

, Higgins was one of thirteen children in a working-class household. She went to Briarhill National School, and Sisters of Mercy Convent, Galway. She married in 1973 but following the birth of her second child in 1977, contracted

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

, forcing her to spend an extended period in a

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, is a historic name for a specialised hospital for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments, and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often in a health ...

. While confined, she began reading, and took to composing poems. She joined the Galway Writers' Workshop in 1982. Jessie Lendennie, editor of Salmon Publishing, encouraged Higgins and oversaw the publication of her first five collections.

Career

Higgins was Galway County's Writer-in-Residence in 1987, Writer in Residence at the National University of Ireland, Galway, in 1994–95, Writer in Residence for Offaly County Council in 1998–99. She was Green Honors Professor at Texas Christian University, in October 2000. Other awards include a Peadar O'Donnell Award in 1989, several Arts Council bursaries 'Sunny Side Plucked' was a Poetry Book Society Recommendation. She was made an honorary fellow at Hong Kong Baptist University in November 2006.

Personal life

Higgins 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 ...

, though the group turned her down five times previously. She cites the feminist,

Mary Wollstonecraft Mary Wollstonecraft ( , ; 27 April 175910 September 1797) was an English writer and philosopher best known for her advocacy of women's rights. Until the late 20th century, Wollstonecraft's life, which encompassed several unconventional ...

, and the Irish Republican, Mary MacSwiney, as role models. She lives in Galway and An Spidéal.

Selected works

Poetry

* ''Goddess on the Mervue Bus'', Salmon Poetry, 1986 * ''Witch in the Bushes'', Salmon Poetry, 1988 * ''Goddess and Witch'', Salmon Poetry, 1990 * ''Philomena's Revenge'', Salmon Poetry, 1992 * ''Higher Purchase'', Salmon Poetry, 1996 * ''Sunny Side Plucked: New & Selected Poems'',

Bloodaxe Books Bloodaxe Books is a British publishing house specializing in poetry. History Bloodaxe Books was founded in 1978 in Newcastle upon Tyne by Neil Astley, who is still editor and managing director. Bloodaxe moved its editorial office to Northumbe ...

, 1996 * ''An Awful Racket'',

, 2001 * ''Throw in the Vowels: New & Selected Poems'',

, 2005; 2nd edition 2010 with audio CD * ''Hurting God: Prose & Poems'', Salmon Poetry, 2010 * ''Ireland Is Changing Mother'',

, 2011 * ''Tongulish'',

, 2016 * ''Our Killer City,'' Salmon Poetry, 2018 * ''Pathogens Love a Patsy - Pandemic and Other Poems'', Salmon Poetry, 2020

Plays

* ''Face Licker Come Home, 1991 * ''God of the Hatch Man'', 1992 * ''Colie Lally Doesn't Live in a Bucket'', 1993 * ''Down All the Roundabouts'', 1999 * ''The Empty Frame'', 2008 * ''The Plastic Bag'', 2008 * ''The Empty Frame'', 2008 * ''The Colossal Longing of Julie Connors'', 2014

Screenplay

* ''The Big Break'', 2004 *''Straois/The Smirk'', 2018

References

External links

* Video readings in th
Irish Poetry Reading ArchiveUCD Digital LibraryUniversity College DublinStuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library
Emory University
Rita Ann Higgins papers, 1968-2017
{{DEFAULTSORT:Higgins, Rita Ann 1955 births Living people Aosdána members Irish women poets Writers from Galway (city) Irish women dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Irish dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Irish poets 21st-century Irish dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Irish poets 20th-century Irish women writers 21st-century Irish women writers