Seán Ó Tuama (1926 – 14 October 2006) was 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 ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wr ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

and academic.

Life

Raised in the southern city of

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

and educated at the North Monastery (North Mon) school and

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one ...

, Ó Tuama first came to prominence in 1950 with his anthology of modern Irish language poetry titled ''Nuabhéarsaíocht 1939-1949''. Notable academic works include ''An Grá in Amhráin na nDaoine'', an analysis of medieval and Renaissance European influences on Irish song, which is credited as being a source for inspiration for poets including

Liam Ó Muirthile Liam Ó Muirthile (1950 – 18 May 2018) was a prominent Irish-language poet who also wrote plays and novels, he was also a journalist. Ó Muirthile originally came to the fore as a member of a group of poets from University College Cork who col ...

and

Gabriel Rosenstock Gabriel Rosenstock (born 29 September 1949) is an Irish writer who works chiefly in the Irish language. A member of Aosdána, he is poet, playwright, haikuist, tankaist, essayist, and author/translator of over 180 books, mostly in Irish. Born in ...

. The anthology An Duanaire: Poems of the Dispossessed, a collection of poems in the

Irish language Irish (an Caighdeán Oifigiúil, Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic languages, Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European lang ...

dating from the 16th to 19th centuries selected by Ó Tuama and accompanied by translations of the poems into

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

Thomas Kinsella Thomas Kinsella (4 May 192822 December 2021) was an Irish poet, translator, editor, and publisher. Born outside Dublin, Kinsella attended University College Dublin before entering the civil service. He began publishing poetry in the early 1950s ...

, was published in 1981. Ó Tuama was the Professor of Irish Literature at

, and

visiting professor In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic for which the visitor ...

at Harvard,

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

and

Toronto University The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

. He was also chairman of

Bord na Gaeilge (, " Irish Institute"; ) is a public body responsible for the promotion of the Irish language throughout the island of Ireland, including both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It was set up on 2 December 1999, assuming the role ...

for a time, and a member of the

Arts Council of Ireland The Arts Council (sometimes called the Arts Council of Ireland; legally ga, An Chomhairle Ealaíon) is the independent "Irish government agency for developing the arts." About It was established in 1951 by the Government of Ireland, to encour ...

Awards

* 1983

American Book Award The American Book Award is an American literary award that annually recognizes a set of books and people for "outstanding literary achievement". According to the 2010 awards press release, it is "a writers' award given by other writers" and "the ...

Works

Poetry

* ''Faoileán Na Beatha'' (Baile Átha Cliath, An Chlochomar Tta., 1962) *

Plays

* * Ar aghaidh linn, a Longadáin * Moloney * Is é seo m'oileán * Corp Eoghain Uí Shúilleabháin * Déan trócaire ar shagairt óga * Iúdás Iscariot agus a bhean * Scéal ar Phádraig

Academic works

* ''An Grá in Amhráin na nDaoine'' (An Clochomhar Tta., 1960) * ''An Grá i bhFilíocht na nUaisle'' (1988)

Anthologies

* * Coiscéim na hAoise Seo, an anthology of 20th century poetry in Irish

Essays

* ''Cúirt, Tuath agus Bruachbhaile'', An Clóchomhar Tta, 1990 * ''Nuabhéarsaíocht 1939-1949'' (as editor, Baile Atha Cliath, Sairseal agus Dill, 1950) * * *

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20090717102354/http://www.irishwriters-online.com/seanotuama.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Otuama, Sean 1926 births 2006 deaths Academics of University College Cork Alumni of University College Cork Irish male poets Irish male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Irish-language poets Harvard University staff 20th-century Irish male writers 20th-century Irish dramatists and playwrights American Book Award winners