Theo Dorgan



Theo Dorgan (born 1953) is an Irish poet, writer and lecturer. He currently lives in Dublin.

Career
Dorgan's poetry collections are The Ordinary House of Love (Galway, Salmon Poetry, 1991); Rosa Mundi(Salmon Poetry, 1995); and Sappho’s Daughter (Dublin, wave Train Press 1998). He has also published a selected poems in Italian, La Case ai Margini del Mundo, (Faenza, Moby Dick, 1999), and a Spanish translation of Sappho’s Daughter La Hija de Safo, (Madrid, Poesía Hiperión, 2001).

Theo Dorgan's first two collections, The Ordinary House of Love and Rosa Mundi, went out of print quickly and were not republished despite ongoing demand. Dedalus Press reissued these two titles in a single volume in 2008.

A new collection, Greek, was published in 2010 Dedalus Press - poetry matters

His prose account of a transatlantic journey under sail, Sailing for Home, was published by Penguin Ireland in 2004 {www.penguinireland. com] and republished by Dedalus Press in 2010

Dorgan has edited The Great Book of Ireland (with Gene Lambert, 1991); Revising the Rising (with Máirín Ní Dhonnachadha, 1991); Irish Poetry Since Kavanagh (Dublin, Four Courts Press, 1996); Watching the River Flow (with Noel Duffy, Dublin, Poetry Ireland/Éigse Éireann, 1999); The Great Book of Gaelic (wiith Malcolm Maclean, Edinburgh, Canongate, 2002); and The Book of Uncommon Prayer (Dublin, Penguin Ireland, 2007).

He has been Series Editor of the European Poetry Translation Network publications and Director of the collective translation seminars from which the books arose.

A former Director of Poetry Ireland/Éigse Éireann, he has worked extensively as a broadcaster of literary programmes on both radio and television. His Jason and The Argonauts, to music by Howard Goodall, was commissioned by and premiered in the Royal Albert Hall in 2004. He was the scriptwriter for the acclaimed TV documentary series Hidden Treasures, and a series of texts commissioned from him features in the dance musical Riverdance. His songs have been recorded by a number of musicians, including Alan Stivell, Jimmy Crowley and Cormac Breathnach. He was presenter of Poetry Now on RTÉ Radio 1, and later presented RTÉ's TV books programme, Imprint.

Among his awards are the Listowel Prize for Poetry, 1992 and the O'Shaughnessy Prize for Irish Poetry 2010. A member of Aosdána, he was appointed to The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon in 2003. He also served on the Board of Cork European Capital of Culture 2005.

He lives in Dublin with his partner, the poet and playwright Paula Meehan.

Life
Born in Cork in 1953, Dorgan was educated in North Monastery School. He completed a BA in English and Philosophy and a MA in English at University College Cork, after which he tutored and lectured in that University, while simultaneously Literature Officer with Triskel Arts Centre in Cork. Dorgan now lives in Dublin.