Derek Mahon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Derek Mahon
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Mahon in 2010
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| Born | 23 November 1941 Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Died | 1 October 2020 (aged 78) Cork, Ireland |
| Occupation | Poet Journalist |
| Genre | Poetry |
| Literary movement | Modernism |
Derek Mahon (born 23 November 1941 – died 1 October 2020) was a famous Irish poet. He was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. But he lived in many different cities around the world. When he passed away, people said his impact on poetry and the literary world was huge. The President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, even said that Mahon could connect old ideas with new ones. He also wrote about tough topics like cruelty.
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About Derek Mahon
Derek Mahon was born on 23 November 1941. He was the only child of working-class parents. His father and grandfather worked at Harland and Wolff. His mother worked at a local flax mill.
As a child, Derek was a quiet dreamer. He enjoyed being by himself. But he was also very aware of the world around him. He loved literature from a young age. He went to Skegoneill Primary school. Then he attended the Royal Belfast Academical Institution, known as "Inst".
Early Poetry Days
At Inst, Derek met other students who loved books and poetry. The school had a magazine. Derek published some of his first poems there. A critic named Hugh Haughton said his early poems were amazing for someone so young.
Derek's parents did not quite understand poetry. But he wanted to show them its value. He won his school's Forrest Reid Memorial Prize. This was for his poem called 'The power that gives the water breath'.
College and Travel
Mahon went to Trinity College Dublin to study French, English, and Philosophy. He became the editor of Icarus, a student magazine. He also made friends with other writers. These included Michael Longley and Eavan Boland. Here, he grew a lot as a poet.
In 1965, he left Trinity. He went to study at the Sorbonne in Paris. After leaving the Sorbonne in 1966, he traveled. He worked in Canada and the United States.
First Book and Later Life
In 1968, Derek taught English at Belfast High School. During this time, he published his first collection of poems. It was called Night Crossing. Later, he taught in a school in Dublin. He also worked as a freelance journalist in London.
He lived in Kinsale, County Cork, Ireland. Derek Mahon won many awards for his writing. On 23 March 2007, he received the David Cohen Prize for Literature. He also won the Poetry Now Award twice. This was in 2006 for Harbour Lights and in 2009 for Life on Earth.
In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic began. RTÉ News ended its evening broadcast with Mahon reading his poem. The poem was titled Everything Is Going to Be All Right.
Derek Mahon passed away on 1 October 2020 in Cork. He was 78 years old. He is remembered by his partner, Sarah Iremonger, and his three children: Rory, Katy, and Maisie.
Derek Mahon's Poetic Style
Derek Mahon was well-educated. He understood a lot about old literature. Even though he came from a time of trouble in Northern Ireland, his poems were calm and formal.
He often used traditional poetry styles. This was different from many poets of his time who used "free verse" (poetry without strict rules). He often used a rhythm called iambic pentameter. This is a common rhythm in English poetry. Some of his poems also rhymed.
Mahon also wrote poems about visual art. This is called ekphrasis. He was very interested in 17th-century Dutch and Flemish art.
Here is an example from his poem "Achill":
- Croagh Patrick towers like Naxos over the water
- And I think of my daughter at work on her difficult art
- And wish she were with me now between thrush and plover,
- Wild thyme and sea-thrift, to lift the weight from my heart.
Awards and Honours
Derek Mahon received many important awards and honours for his poetry:
- 1965 – Eric Gregory Award for poetry
- 1989 – Scott Moncrieff Translation Prize
- 1990 – Lannan Literary Awards for Poetry
- 1992 – The Irish Times-Aer Lingus Poetry Prize
- 1995 – Honorary doctorate from Trinity College Dublin
- 2001 – Honorary doctorate from NUI Galway
- 2007 – David Cohen Prize for Literature for his lifetime of work
- Member of Aosdána (an Irish arts organization)
- Irish Academy of Letters Award
- Guggenheim Fellowship
- 2020 – Irish Times Poetry Now award
See also
In Spanish: Derek Mahon para niños
- List of Northern Irish writers
