Tina Darragh (born 1950) is an American

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 ...

who was one of the original members of the

Language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...

group of poets.

Biography

Darragh was born in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

and grew up in the south suburb of

McDonald, Pennsylvania McDonald is a borough in Allegheny and Washington counties in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, 18 miles (29 km) southwest of Pittsburgh. The population was 2,056 at the 2020 census. Of this, 1,661 were in Washington County, and 395 were in ...

. She began writing in 1968 and studied poetry in Washington, D.C. at Trinity University from 1970 to 1972. Between 1974 and 1976, she worked with Some of Us Press and at the Mass Transit community bookstore and writing workshop. Mass Transit, and after it Folio bookshop, became focal points for much of the poetic activity that was to result in the East Coast wing of the "Language" group, and here Darragh met other poets, including Susan Howe,

Diane Ward Diane Ward (born November 9, 1956) is a U.S. poet initially associated with the first wave of Language poetry in the 1970s and has actively published into the 21st century, maintaining a presence in various artistic communities for many decades. ...

, Doug Lang, Joan Retallack, and

P. Inman Peter Inman (writing as P. Inman) is an American poet. He was born in 1947 and raised on Long Island. He graduated from Georgetown University. Since 1980 he worked at the Library of Congress, where he was a union activist (i.e. shop steward, execut ...

, all of whom were also to become key members of the group. She and Inman are married and live in

Greenbelt, Maryland Greenbelt is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, and a suburb of Washington, D.C. At the 2020 census, the population was 24,921. Greenbelt is the first and the largest of the three experimental and controversial New De ...

. Darragh's extensive list of publications include ''on the corner to off the corner'' (1981), ''Striking Resemblance'' (

Burning Deck Burning Deck was a small press specializing in the publication of experimental poetry and prose. Burning Deck was founded by the writers Keith Waldrop and Rosmarie Waldrop in 1961 and closed in 2017. Overview Although the Waldrops initially promot ...

, 1988), ''a(gain)2 st the odds'' (1989), and ''adv. fans - the 1968 series'' (1993). Her work has been included in numerous anthologies, including the important "Language"-oriented anthology, ''In the American Tree'' (edited by

Ron Silliman Ron Silliman (born August 5, 1946) is an American poet. He has written and edited over 30 books, and has had his poetry and criticism translated into 12 languages. He is often associated with language poetry. Between 1979 and 2004, Silliman w ...

). In 1998, her work was published in the anthology ''etruscan reader VIII'' (with Douglas Oliver &

Randolph Healy Randolph Healy (born 1956) is an Irish poet and publisher. Healy was born in Scotland and moved to Dublin at the age of 18 months. After leaving school at the age of 14 to work in a number of jobs, he returned to full-time education and graduate ...

) and included selections from "The Dream Rim Instructions + SEE References" and "fractals <<—>> l-in-error". Darragh has also been involved in numerous collaborative efforts with others including the recent ''Belladonna Elders Series No. 8: Jane Sprague / Tina Darragh / Diane Ward'' published by Belladonna Books in 2009.This work is a collaboration in two parts: "In Conversation" (the text of a dialogue between Sprague, Darragh, and Ward) followed by hybrid (ie., mixed genre/poetry/prose) texts. The second collaborative section begins with an untitled poem ("how you'll know me") followed by "WHAT IS THE MATTER?", and "s aitting dignity". This volume concludes with "Notes for 's aitting dignity'" and a bibliography. It also contains two photographs by Ward, including the jacket cover, of the Los Angeles River.

Notes

References

External links

An interview
- dcpoetry.com

- upenn.edu

- poetryproject.com

facsimile & pdf at e c l i p s e
''etruscan reader VIII: Tina Darragh, Douglas Oliver & Randolph Healy''
link to Salt Publishing page on ''etruscan reader VIII'' with brief description of Darragh's poetics
Darragh reading her poem: ''Collective Lament for Banishing Animals from History''
Recorded 25 January 2007 at the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a public land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the flagship university of the University of Maine System. It is classifi ...

Doug Lang on Tina Darragh
an in-depth look at Darragh's poetry, life, and poetics.
Opposable Dumbs
downloadable ebook at zimZalla publishing.
The Other Room - interview
film of 28 minute interview for The Other Room in Manchester, UK, July 2009.
The Other Room - reading
films of reading for The Other Room in Manchester, UK, July 2009.
Guide to the Tina Darragh literary papers, 1974-2017
Special Collections Research Center, Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library, The George Washington University. {{DEFAULTSORT:Darragh, Tina 1950 births Language poets Living people Modernist women writers Writers from Pittsburgh Trinity Washington University alumni American women poets 21st-century American women