Hartnett, Michael

(1944-1999)

   He was born, brought up and educated in County Limerick, then worked as a tea boy on a London building site. His article "The Teaboy of the Western World," which appeared in one of the newspapers, brought him to the attention of John Jordan, professor of English in University College Dublin, who sponsored him for a year at the school. He and his family moved back to Ireland in 1968, where he worked in the telephone exchange. He was an occasional lecturer and taught creative writing at Thomond College, Limerick. He won several awards for his poetry, and in 1999, the documentary film on his life and work, Michael Hartnett: Necklace of Wrens, was shown on Irish television. He died from from the effects of alcoholism. His poetry is written in both English and Irish. Some of his other publications: Anatomy of a Cliché, 1968. A Farewell to English, 1975. Inchicore Haiku, 1985. The Killing of Dreams, 1992. Selected and New Poems, 1994. Some of his poems: "All That is Left," "Death of an Irishwoman," "For My Grandmother, Bridget Halpin," "Mountains, Fall on Us," "The Purge."

   Sources: Biography of Michael Hartnett (http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/Poetry/Hartnett.html). Contemporary Irish Poetry: An Anthology. Anthony Bradley, ed. University of California Press. New and rev. ed., 1988. The Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry. 11th ed. The Columbia Granger's World of Poetry, Columbia University Press, 2005 (http://www.columbiagrangers.org). Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia).