Derek Mahon

Derek Mahon was born in Belfast, North Ireland, on November 23, 1941. He was educated at Trinity College in Dublin.

Mahon was the author of several collections of poetry, including An Autumn Wind (Gallery Press, 2010); Life on Earth (Gallery Press, 2008); and Somewhere the Wave (Gallery Press, 2007). He also coauthored In Their Element: A Selection of Poems with Seamus Heaney (Arts Council of Northern Ireland, 1977).

Hugh Haughton, writing in the Times Literary Supplement, referred to Mahon’s work as a “verse of astonishing versatility and singing power.”

His honors included the Scott-Manriet Translation Prize, two Poetry Now Awards in 2006  and 2009, the Irish American Foundation Award, a Lannan Literary Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the American Ireland Fund Literary Award, the Arts Council Bursary, and the Eric Gregory Award.

Mahon lived in Cork, Ireland, and died on October 1, 2020.