Eavan Boland facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Eavan Boland
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Boland, 1996
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| Born | Eavan Aisling Boland 24 September 1944 Dublin, Ireland |
| Died | 27 April 2020 (aged 75) Dublin, Ireland |
| Occupation | Poet, author, professor |
| Language | English |
| Alma mater | Trinity College Dublin |
| Period | 1962–2020 |
| Notable awards | Jacob's Award 1976 |
| Spouse |
Kevin Casey
(m. 1969) |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Frederick Boland (father) Frances Kelly (mother) |
Eavan Aisling Boland (born September 24, 1944 – died April 27, 2020) was a famous Irish poet, writer, and professor. She taught at Stanford University in the United States starting in 1996. Her poems often explored what it means to be Irish and the important role of women in Irish history. Many students in Ireland study her poems for their final exams. She also won a special award called the Lannan Literary Award for Poetry.
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Early Life and Education
Eavan Boland was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1944. Her father, Frederick Boland, was a diplomat who worked for the government in other countries. Her mother, Frances Kelly, was a well-known painter.
When Eavan was six, her father became the Irish Ambassador to the United Kingdom. This meant her family moved to London. While living there, Eavan sometimes experienced people being unkind because she was Irish. This made her feel even more connected to her Irish background. She even wrote a poem about this time called "An Irish Childhood in England: 1951."
At age 14, she moved back to Dublin and went to Holy Child School. She started writing poetry early, publishing a small collection of poems in 1962, during her first year at Trinity College Dublin. She graduated from Trinity College in 1966 with top honors in English Literature.
Career as a Writer and Teacher
After college, Eavan Boland taught at several universities and continued to write. She taught at Trinity College Dublin, University College, Dublin, and Bowdoin College. She also spent time as a writer-in-residence, which means she was a special writer invited to work at places like Trinity College Dublin and the National Maternity Hospital, Dublin.
In 1969, Eavan married Kevin Casey, who was a novelist. They had two daughters. Her experiences as a wife and mother greatly influenced her writing. She often wrote about everyday life and how important ordinary things are. These personal themes also helped her explore bigger ideas about politics and history.
From 1996, she became a professor at Stanford University in California. She was a very important professor there, leading the Creative Writing program. She split her time between Palo Alto, California, and her home in Dublin.
Her Poetry
Eavan Boland's first book of poems, New Territory, came out in 1967. She then published other important collections like The War Horse (1975), In Her Own Image (1980), and Night Feed (1982). These books made her famous for writing about the daily lives of women and the challenges women poets faced in a world mostly run by men.
Her poem "Quarantine" was chosen as one of Ireland's favorite poems from the last 100 years in 2015. Important leaders have even quoted her work. In 2008, the former Irish Prime Minister, Bertie Ahern, quoted her poem "The Emigrant Irish" when speaking to the US Congress. In 2016, President Obama quoted lines from her poem "On a Thirtieth Anniversary" at a St. Patrick's Day event at the White House.
In 2018, a TV show called "Eavan Boland: Is it Still the Same?" was made about her life as a poet. That same year, she wrote a special poem called "Our future will become the past of other women." This poem was read at the United Nations and in Ireland to celebrate 100 years since women gained the right to vote in Ireland.
Editing and Translating Books
Besides writing her own poems, Eavan Boland also helped put together collections of other poets' work. She co-edited The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms (2000) and The Making of a Sonnet: A Norton Anthology of the Sonnet (2008). She also translated a book of poems called After Every War in 2004.
Awards and Recognition
Eavan Boland received many awards for her writing and contributions to literature.
- In 1976, she won a Jacob's Award for her work on a radio show called The Arts Programme.
- Her collection In a Time of Violence (1994) won a Lannan Award and was considered for the T. S. Eliot Prize.
- She received honorary degrees from several universities, including University College Dublin and Trinity College Dublin.
- Her book Against Love Poetry was named a Notable Book of the Year by The New York Times.
- Her book Domestic Violence (2007) was shortlisted for the Forward Prize in the UK. A poem from this book, 'Violence Against Women', also won an award.
- In 2012, she won a PEN Award for her collection of essays, A Journey With Two Maps: Becoming a Woman Poet.
- In 2016, she became a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
- In 2017, she received the Bob Hughes Lifetime Achievement Award at the Irish Book Awards.
- In 2018, she was made an honorary member of the Royal Irish Academy.
- She received the Irish PEN Award for Literature in 2019.
Death and Legacy
Eavan Boland passed away in Dublin on April 27, 2020, at the age of 75.
After her death, her final collection of poems, The Historians, was awarded the Costa Book Award for poetry in 2020. Her work continues to be important for understanding Irish identity and the experiences of women.
See also
- Irish poetry
- List of Irish writers
