Paul Muldoon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Paul Muldoon
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Muldoon in 2018
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| Born | 20 June 1951 Portadown, Northern Ireland |
| Occupation | Poet, author, and writer |
| Education | Queen's University Belfast (BA) |
| Spouse | Jean Hanff Korelitz |
Paul Muldoon is a famous Irish poet. He has written more than thirty books of poetry. He has won important awards like the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and the T. S. Eliot Prize. He used to be a professor at Princeton University and was also the poetry editor for The New Yorker magazine.
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Paul Muldoon's Early Life and Career
Paul Muldoon was born on June 20, 1951, on a farm in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. He was the oldest of three children. His father was a farmer, and his mother was a school teacher.
He grew up near a place called The Moy. He remembers it as a beautiful area. Even though he left for university, he still thought of it as home. His family was not very involved in politics. However, there was an army presence and a divide between different groups in the area.
Muldoon said there were not many books in his house when he was young. He mostly read a set of encyclopedias. This might be why he became interested in many different topics.
University Days and First Books
In 1969, Muldoon went to Queen's University Belfast to study English. There, he met other poets like Seamus Heaney. He also joined a group of poets called the Belfast Group. This group included Michael Longley and Ciarán Carson. Muldoon found this time very exciting.
While at Queen's, his first book of poems, New Weather, was published. This was a big achievement for a young writer. He also met his first wife, Anne-Marie Conway, at university. They got married in 1973 after they both graduated.
Working at the BBC and Moving to the US
After university, Muldoon worked for the BBC in Belfast for thirteen years (1973–1986). During this time, he published more poetry collections. These included Why Brownlee Left (1980) and Quoof (1983).
After leaving the BBC, he taught writing at different universities in England. In 1987, Muldoon moved to the United States. He started teaching creative writing at Princeton University. From 1999 to 2004, he was also the Professor of Poetry at Oxford University in England.
Today, Muldoon is married to the writer Jean Hanff Korelitz. They have two children, Dorothy and Asher. He mainly lives in New York City.
Paul Muldoon's Poetry and Other Creative Works
Paul Muldoon's poems are known for being clever and sometimes a bit tricky. He uses unusual words and plays with words, like making puns. His poems often have a quiet sense of humor. Many people say he is one of the most important poets writing in English today.
His work is often compared to Seamus Heaney, another famous poet from Northern Ireland. Heaney was also a friend and mentor to Muldoon.
Major Awards and Recognition
In 2003, Muldoon won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. This is one of the highest honors a poet can receive. He has also won the T. S. Eliot Prize in 1994 and the Griffin Poetry Prize in 2003. These awards show how much his work is respected.
His poems have been collected into several books. These include Selected Poems 1968–1986 (1986) and Selected Poems 1968–2014 (2016). In 2007, he became the poetry editor for The New Yorker magazine.
Long Poems and Other Projects
Many of Muldoon's poetry books include a long poem at the end. Over time, these long poems started to take up more space in his books. For example, his 1990 book Madoc: A Mystery was almost entirely one very long poem.
Madoc: A Mystery is one of his most complex works. It tells an imagined story where two famous poets, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey, travel to America. They try to start a perfect community there. This poem is inspired by an older poem called Madoc about a Welsh prince.
Besides poetry, Muldoon has written words for operas. He has also written lyrics for rock bands. He even plays guitar in his own bands, like Rogue Oliphant. He has edited books, written two children's books, and translated other authors' works.
Awards and Honors
Paul Muldoon has received many important awards for his poetry:
- 1990: Guggenheim Fellowship
- 1992: Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize for Madoc: A Mystery
- 1994: T. S. Eliot Prize for The Annals of Chile
- 1997: Irish Times' Irish Literature Prize for Poetry
- 2003: Griffin Poetry Prize (Canada) for Moy Sand and Gravel
- 2003: Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for Moy Sand and Gravel
- 2004: Aspen Prize for Poetry
- 2017: Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry
He has also received many special honors:
- Honorary Professor at the University of St Andrews (Scotland)
- Professor of Poetry at Oxford University (1999–2004)
- Honorary Fellow of Hertford College, Oxford University
- Fellowship with the Royal Society of Literature (England)
- Fellowship with the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (US)
- Awarded an honorary doctorate by Trinity College Dublin in 2014
See Also
- List of Northern Irish writers
- Oxford Professor of Poetry
- Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
