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Derek Mahon

デレク・マホン

Derek Mahon

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1941-11-23 （Belfast, Northern Ireland）
Died
2020-10-01 （Cork, Ireland） age 78
Nationality
Irish
Languages
English
Religion
Protestant (Ulster Protestant background)
Residence History
Belfast → Dublin → Paris (Sorbonne) → Canada (residence/travel) → United States (residence/travel) → London → Kinsale, County Cork → Cork

Career

Occupations
Poet, Journalist
Active Years
1962-2020
Affiliations
Aosdána
Memberships
Aosdána
Influenced By
Gerard Manley Hopkins, Philippe Jaccottet, French-language poets (e.g. Paul Valéry)
Influenced
contemporary Irish poets

Education

Trinity College Dublin
Faculty of Arts / French, English and Philosophy
Period: 〜1965
Year of Graduation: 1965
Country: Ireland
Edited the magazine Icarus and formed friendships with other writers while a student
University of Paris (Sorbonne)
Literature
Period: 1965–1966
Year of Graduation: 1966
Country: France
Short period of study/attendance

Awards

Eric Gregory Award
1965
Organization: Society of Authors (Eric Gregory Award)
Result: 受賞
Scott Moncrieff Translation Prize
1989
Organization: Scott Moncrieff Prize organizers
Result: 受賞
Lannan Literary Awards
1990
Category: 詩
Organization: Lannan Foundation
Result: 受賞
The Irish Times–Aer Lingus Poetry Prize
1992
Organization: The Irish Times / Aer Lingus
Result: 受賞
Honorary doctorate (Trinity College Dublin)
1995
Category: 名誉学位
Organization: Trinity College Dublin
Result: 授与
Honorary doctorate (NUI Galway)
2001
Category: 名誉学位
Organization: NUI Galway
Result: 授与
David Cohen Prize for Literature
2007
Category: 生涯業績
Organization: David Cohen Prize trustees
Result: 受賞
Irish Times Poetry Now Award
2006
Work: Harbour Lights
Organization: The Irish Times / Poetry Now
Result: 受賞
Irish Times Poetry Now Award
2009
Work: Life on Earth
Organization: The Irish Times / Poetry Now
Result: 受賞
Guggenheim Fellowship
Organization: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result: 受賞
Irish Times Poetry Now Award
2020
Organization: The Irish Times / Poetry Now
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Night-Crossing

1968 Poetry

Early collection showing a youthful perspective, themes of travel and a formal poetic inclination.

travelsolitudenature

Harbour Lights

2005 Poetry

A collection often centred on harbours and the sea. Winner of the 2006 Irish Times Poetry Now Award.

the seamemorytime

Life on Earth

2008 Poetry

A mature collection including the volume that won the 2009 Irish Times Poetry Now Award.

existencehistorycultural references

The Hudson Letter

1995 Poetry

A collection with an international outlook, dealing with urban images and Anglo-Irish relationships.

the cityinternationalismmemory

Against the Clock

2018 Poetry

A late collection addressing time, ageing, and observations of everyday life.

timeageingthe everyday

Bibliography

  • Night-Crossing (1968)
  • Lives (1972)
  • The Snow Party (1975)
  • The Hunt By Night (1982)
  • The Hudson Letter (1995)
  • The Yellow Book (1997)
  • Harbour Lights (2005)
  • Life on Earth (2008)
  • An Autumn Wind (2010)
  • Against the Clock (2018)
  • Washing Up (2020)

Translations by Author

  • The Chimeras (versions of Nerval)
  • The Selected Poems of Philippe Jaccottet (translation)
  • Cyrano de Bergerac (version after Edmond Rostand)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
a formal, restrained and lucid poetic voicea fusion of classical tradition with contemporary sensibilities
Recurring Motifs
the sea and harboursmemory and timeekphrasis / painting into poetryIrish landscape

Health

  • short illness (details unspecified)
    2020
    Died in 2020 after a short illness

Legacy

Derek Mahon was known for a formal poetic style combined with contemporary edge, leaving a significant legacy in Irish and international poetry. His work is taught in curricula and he is highly regarded for both his collections and translations.

Museums

  • Portraits at the National Portrait Gallery (London) London

Academic Societies

  • Aosdána

Archives

  • Emory University (Derek Mahon papers, archives)

In Popular Culture

  • His reading of the poem "Everything Is Going to Be All Right" was used by RTÉ at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing his voice to a wide public audience

Quotes

  • He shared with his northern peers the capacity to link the classical and the contemporary but he brought also an edge that was unsparing of cruelty and wickedness.
    Source: President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins (on Mahon's death) (2020)

Trivia

  • Studied at Trinity College Dublin and the Sorbonne.
  • His papers are held at Emory University.
  • "Everything Is Going to Be All Right" was used by RTÉ during the early COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Survived by his partner Sarah Iremonger and three children: Rory, Katy and Maisie.
  • Several of his poems are included in the Irish Leaving Certificate curriculum.