Dennis O’Driscoll was born in Thurles, North Tipperary, Ireland, in 1954. He published nine books of poetry, a collection of essays, and the anthology Quote Poet Unquote: Contemporary Quotations on Poets and Poetry (Copper Canyon Press, 2008). His first book of poetry to appear in the United States was Reality Check (Copper Canyon Press, 2008). O’Driscoll received many honors for his work, including a Lannan Literary Award in 1999, the 2005 E.M. Forster Award, and the 2006 O’Shaughnessy Award for Poetry. He served for a time as editor of Poetry Ireland Review, and contributed to many other periodicals in Ireland, the UK, and the US, including Poetry, The London Magazine, Harvard Review, The Southern Review, and The Poetry Review. According to The Poetry Review, he was “one of the best-read men in the Western world.” He was a member of Aosdána, the Irish academy of artists, and a dedicated civil servant. He passed away just before Christmas in 2012.
