Kevin Kiely (poet) facts for kids

Kevin Kiely (born 2 June 1953) is a writer from Northern Ireland. He is known for his poetry, novels, and plays. He also writes as a critic, sharing his thoughts on other writers' works. His writings and ideas have sometimes caused discussion, with some people supporting them and others disagreeing.

Early Life and Education

Kevin Kiely was born on June 2, 1953, in Warrenpoint, County Down, Northern Ireland. His great-uncle, John Jesus Flanagan, was an Olympian who won three gold medals in hammer throwing. Kevin moved around Ireland a lot as a child because of his father's job at a bank.

When he was seven, he went to live with his aunt in Wimbledon, London. After his father passed away in 1963, his uncle became his guardian. Kevin attended Mt St. Joseph’s Abbey in Roscrea as a boarder from 1966 to 1969. He finished his schooling at Blackrock College, Dublin, from 1969 to 1971.

Travels and Studies

After school, Kevin Kiely worked as a field study technician in England. He also traveled around Europe, working part-time jobs and reading in libraries. He spent a lot of time in Paris and London.

He later went to University College Galway in 1976. He taught literature in Barcelona, Spain, and became an honorary fellow at Iowa University in 1983. He earned a Master's degree in Literature from Trinity College in 2005. He also received a PhD from University College Dublin in 2009.

His PhD research focused on a person named John L. Sweeney, who supported poets at Harvard's Woodberry Poetry Room. This research helped him get a Fulbright Award in 2007. This award allowed him to teach at American universities like Boise State University and the University of Idaho. He also continued his research at Harvard. His research became a book called Harvard’s Patron: Jack of All Poets (2018). This book looked at how Sweeney helped many famous American poets.

His Writings

Kevin Kiely has written many different types of works. From 1978 to 1979, he helped edit a magazine called The Belle. He then moved to Spain, where he taught and gave talks about poetry.

His first book, Quintesse, was published in 1982 in Dublin and later in New York in 1985. He was invited to the University of Iowa to work with American poets like Gary Snyder and Jorie Graham. In 1989, his novel Mere Mortals was published.

Kiely also wrote a biography about the author Francis Stuart. This book, Francis Stuart: Artist and Outcast, was discussed a lot because of Stuart's complicated life. Some people praised Kiely's balanced view, while others wanted a stronger opinion. A new version of the book was released in 2017.

His poetry collection, Breakfast with Sylvia, came out in 2005. It received the Kavanagh Fellowship in 2006 and was highly praised. A portrait of Kevin Kiely by Maeve McCarthy RHA won an award in 2006.

His poems have appeared in many magazines and journals around the world.

Plays and Novels for Young Readers

Kevin Kiely has also written plays. Multiple Indiscretions (1997) and Children of No Importance (2000) were produced by RTÉ. His play "In This Supreme Hour" was performed in Derry in 2016.

He is also a successful author of novels for young readers. His book A Horse Called El Dorado won the CBI Bisto Award in 2006. Another novel, SOS Lusitania (2013), is about war and politics. It was chosen as the "One Book One Community Choice" in 2015 during the centenary of the Lusitania ship. His recent adult novel is The Welkinn Complex. He also published a collection of poems called UCD Belfield Metaphysical: a retrospective in 2017.

Kevin Kiely has received several awards for his writing, including Arts Council Literature Bursary Awards and The Patrick Kavanagh Fellowship in Poetry.

Epic Poetry

Since 2011, Kevin Kiely has led writing workshops and talks in Northern Ireland. He worked with groups like the Eden Place Arts Centre and Playhouse Theatre. This work led to several collections of writings by different groups.

His experiences in Northern Ireland, a region with a history of conflict, inspired his two-volume epic poem, Yrland Regained: Central Cantos. This long poem explores the history of conflict in Northern Ireland and Ireland's journey towards independence. In 2021, he helped edit Pamela Mary Brown’s Questions of Legacy and co-wrote poetry for a short film called ‘O City, City’.

Poetry, Science, and Philosophy

Kevin Kiely explores ideas from science and philosophy in his poetry. He looks at how thinkers like Einstein, Bohr, and Newton connected science with mystical ideas. He is interested in how language and poetry can reveal deeper meanings about the world.

His book, The Principles of Poetry DI + ID = Ψ Psi, examines how different poets use language to create mystical experiences for readers. He looks at many poems and quotes, analyzing them like a scientist would.

Shakespeare Authorship Question

Kevin Kiely is part of The Shakespeare Authorship Coalition. This group has questions about whether William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon was truly the author of all the plays and poems attributed to him.

Kiely's book, Stratford-upon-Shakespeare and other Lies, explores this topic. He discusses how the idea of Shakespeare as a single author might have been created by people in power long ago. He mentions that many famous writers and thinkers have also questioned Shakespeare's identity. His book connects this debate to the history of the British Empire.

Critical Introductions

In the 2020s, Kevin Kiely was asked to write introductions for several classic books published by Spa Cottage Publishing (Ireland). These include works by famous Irish writers like AE (George William Russell), Thomas Moore, and Emily Lawless.

Published Works

• Pieta, The Anthology (short fiction) ed. Leland Bardwell Co-Op Books Dublin 1982
• Quintesse, St Martin's Press, New York 1985
• Mere Mortals, Poolbeg, Dublin 1989
• Multiple Indiscretions, RTÉ 1997
• Children of No Importance, RTÉ 2000
• Plainchant for a Sundering (long-poem) Lapwing, Belfast 2001
• A Horse Called El Dorado, O'Brien Press, Dublin 2005
• Breakfast with Sylvia, Lagan Press, Belfast 2005/US Edition 2007
• Francis Stuart: Artist and Outcast, Liffey Press, Dublin 2007, Areopagitica Publishing 2017
• Something Sensational To Read in the Train (anthology foreword: Brendan Kennelly) Lemon Soap Press, Dublin 2005
• Catullus: One Man of Verona Anthology, ed. Ronan Sheehan Farmar & Farmar Ltd 2010
• The Welkinn Complex Number One Son Publishing Co., Florida USA 2011; Areopagitica Publishing (Revised Edition) 2016
• Ends & Beginnings: Anthology eds. John Gery and William Pratt AMS Press Inc, New York 2011
• Windows Anthology eds. Heather Brett and Noel Monahan 2012
• In Place of Love and Country eds. Richard Parker & John Gery Crater Press, London 2013
• SOS Lusitania, O'Brien Press, Dublin 2013
• The Taking of Christ (co-authored with Pamela Mary Brown) 2013
• 1916-2016 An Anthology of Reactions eds. John Liddy & Dominic Taylor The Limerick Writers' Centre, 2016
• UCD Belfield Metaphysical: a retrospective , Lapwing Press, Belfast 2017
• The Office on Serious Street, Writers Room Anthology, Eden Place Arts Centre, Derry 2017
• Seamus Heaney and the Great Poetry Hoax Areopagitica, 2018
• Harvard’s Patron: Jack of All Poets Areopagitica, 2018
• UCD Belfield Metaphysical: New & Selected Poems Areopagitica, 2018
• Dracula and Luna (co-authored with Pamela Mary Brown) Areopagitica 2018
• Cromwell Milton Collins Carson from "Yrland Regained: Central Cantos" Cyberwit, Allahabad, India 2020
• Endgames: Good Friday Agreement & Missus Windsor's Hitmen Cantos Cyberwit, Allahabad, India 2020
• Arts Council Immortals Areopagitica 2020
• I shot the President's verse: Selected Journalism Areopagitica 2021
• Yrland Regained: Central Cantos I & II Areopagitica 2022
• Hotel Baudelaire: reservations and cancellations Areopagitica 2022
• The Candle of Vision A.E. (George William Russell) Introduction by Kevin Kiely Spa Cottage Publishing, 2022
• The Irish Percy French Introduction by Kevin Kiely Spa Cottage Publishing, 2022
• Secret Lives: Selected Poems and Prose of Susan Langstaff Mitchell Introduction by Kevin Kiely Spa Cottage Publishing, 2022
• The Selected Poems of Jane Elgee-Wilde Introduction by Kevin Kiely Spa Cottage Publishing, 2022
• Thomas Moore: Political Poems Introduction by Kevin Kiely Spa Cottage Publishing, 2024
• The Principles of Poetry DI + ID = Ψ Psi Spa Cottage Publishing, 2024
• Stratford-upon-Shakespeare and other Lies Spa Cottage Publishing, 2024