Matthew Sweeney

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Matthew Sweeney
Born(1952-10-06)6 October 1952
Polytechnic of North London[4]
University of Freiburg[4]
GenrePoetry
Literary movement"Alternative Realism"[5]
"Imagistic Narrative"[3]
Notable worksHorse Music
SpouseRosemary Barber[3]
PartnerMary Noonan[2]
ChildrenNico (daughter)[2]
Malvin (son)[2]

Matthew Gerard Sweeney (6 October 1952 – 5 August 2018)[6] was an Irish poet.[4] His work has been translated into Dutch, Italian, Hebrew, Japanese, Latvian, Mexican Spanish, Romanian, Slovakian and German.[3]

According to the poet Gerard Smyth: "I always sensed that in the first instance [Sweeney] regarded himself as a European rather than an Irish poet – and rightly so: like the German Georg Trakl whom he admired he apprehended the world in a way that challenged our perceptions and commanded our attention."[4] Sweeney's work has been considered "barely touched by the mainstream of English writing" and more so by the German writers Kleist, Büchner, Kafka, Grass and Böll, as well as the aforementioned Trakl.[5] According to Poetry International Web, Sweeney would be among the top five most famous Irish poets on the international scene.[7]

Biography

Sweeney was born at

Polytechnic of North London, spending a year at the University of Freiburg,[9] before graduating with a BA Honours degree in 1978.[3]

He met Rosemary Barber in 1972. They married in 1979. Two offspring – daughter Nico and son Malvin – were produced before the couple went their separate ways in the early 21st century.[3] Having lived in London for many years until 2001, Sweeney separated from Rosemary and went to live in Timișoara (Romania) and Berlin (Germany). In 2007, he met his partner, Mary Noonan, and in early 2008 he moved to Cork to live with her there.[citation needed]

Work

Sweeney produced numerous collections of poetry for which he won several awards. His novels for children include The Snow Vulture (1992) and Fox (2002).[5] He authored a satirical thriller, co-written with John Hartley Williams, and entitled Death Comes for the Poets (2012).[4]

Bill Swainson, Sweeney's editor at

Allison and Busby in the 1980s, recalls: "As well as writing his own poetry, Matthew was a great encourager of poetry in others. The workshops he animated, and later the residencies he undertook, were famous for their geniality and seriousness and fun. Sometime in the late 1980s I attended one of these workshops in an upstairs room of a pub in Lamb's Conduit Street, Bloomsbury, where the poems were circulated anonymously and carefully read and commented on by all. Around the pushed-together tables were Ruth Padel, Eva Salzman, Don Paterson, Maurice Riordan, Jo Shapcott, Lavinia Greenlaw, Michael Donaghy, Maura Dooley and Tim Dooley."[3] Sweeney later had residencies at the University of East Anglia and London's Southbank Centre, among many others.[5] He read at three Rotterdam Poetry Festivals, in 1998, 2003 and 2009.[10][11][12]

His final year saw the publication of two new collections: My Life As A Painter (

motor neuron disease the previous year (a fate that had earlier befallen a sister of his), Sweeney died aged 65 at Cork University Hospital on 5 August 2018, surrounded by family and friends.[1][13][4] He had continued writing up until three days before he died.[2] In an interview shortly before his death he was quizzed on his legacy, to which he gave the response: "Mostly what awaits the poet is posthumous oblivion. Maybe there will be a young man in Hamburg, or Munich, or possibly Vienna, for whom my German translations will be for a while important – and might just contribute to him becoming a German language poet with Irish leanings."[4] Among those attending a special ceremony on 8 August 2018 at the Triskel Arts Centre in Cork city to celebrate Sweeney's life were fellow poets Jo Shapcott, Thomas McCarthy, Gerry Murphy, Maurice Riordan and Padraig Rooney.[2] On 9 August 2018, Sweeney was buried in Clonmany New Cemetery in County Donegal.[2]

Awards

Works

Poetry
Editor
Novel
Criticism

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Death Notice of Matthew Sweeney". RIP.ie. 5 August 2018. Archived from the original on 9 August 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  2. ^
    Irish Times Trust. Archived from the original
    on 8 August 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Swainson, Bill (9 August 2018). "Matthew Sweeney obituary: Prolific poet whose darkly humorous fables expressed the strangeness of the world with a sense of delight". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 9 August 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g O'Halloran, Marie (5 August 2018). "Aosdána poet Matthew Sweeney dies at 66 of motor neurone disease". The Irish Times. Irish Times Trust. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d "Matthew Sweeney". contemporarywriters.com. Archived from the original on 9 October 2009. at British Council, Literature.
  6. ^ a b Wood, Heloise (6 August 2018). "'Wonderful' poet Sweeney dies aged 66". The Bookseller. Archived from the original on 7 August 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  7. ^ "Matthew Sweeney (1952–2018)". Poetry International Web. Archived from the original on 10 August 2018.
  8. ^ Horse Music. Bloodaxe Books. 2013. p. 96.
  9. ^ "Matthew Sweeney". Poetry Foundation. Archived from the original on 9 August 2018.
  10. ^ "29th Poetry International Festival Rotterdam". Poetry International Web. 1998. Archived from the original on 22 November 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  11. ^ "34th Poetry International Festival Rotterdam". Poetry International Web. 2003. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017.
  12. ^ "40th Poetry International Festival Rotterdam". Poetry International Web. 2009. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017.
  13. ^ Sheridan, Colette (23 April 2018). "Matthew Sweeney: 'I prefer not to dwell on my inevitable demise'". Irish Examiner. Thomas Crosbie Holdings. Archived from the original on 23 April 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  14. ^ Crown, Sarah (1 November 2007). "First collection vies with established names for TS Eliot prize". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2007.
  15. ^ "POETRY READING with Matthew Sweeney and Mary Noonan 'Dancing with Horses'". Sterts Theatre and Arts Centre. 31 May 2015.
  16. Independent News & Media
    . Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  17. ^ "King of a Rainy Country by Matthew Sweeney", Poetry Book Society.

External links