Pearse Hutchinson facts for kids

Pearse Hutchinson (born February 16, 1927 – died January 14, 2012) was an Irish poet, radio presenter, and translator. He was known for his love of languages and cultures, especially those from Spain and Portugal. He wrote poems in both English and Irish, and translated works from many different languages.

Pearse Hutchinson's Early Life

Pearse Hutchinson was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His father, Harry Hutchinson, was a printer whose family came from Dublin. Harry was involved with Sinn Féin, an Irish political party, in Glasgow. He was even held in a special camp called Frongoch for a few years. Pearse's mother, Cathleen Sara, was also born in Glasgow, but her parents were from County Donegal in Ireland. She was a friend of Constance Markievicz, a famous Irish revolutionary.

When Pearse was five years old, his family moved to Dublin, Ireland. He went to St. Enda's School and then to the Christian Brothers school on Synge Street. There, he learned Irish and Latin. One of his good friends at school was John Jordan, who also became a poet. In 1948, Pearse studied at University College Dublin for about a year and a half, where he learned Spanish and Italian.

Adventures and Languages Overseas

Pearse's journey as a poet really began after a trip to Spain and Portugal in 1950. He had already published some poems in a magazine called The Bell in 1945. During his trip, he discovered the culture of Galicia and was amazed by the landscapes and poems of Spanish writers like Lorca. He later wrote that the light in Spain felt like something he had always dreamed of.

In 1951, he decided to live in Spain. When he couldn't find work in Madrid, he went to Geneva, Switzerland. There, he worked as a translator for the International Labour Office. This job connected him with people who spoke Catalan, a language that was not allowed to be used much in Spain at the time. He even taught himself Dutch before visiting the Netherlands.

Pearse returned to Ireland in 1953. He became very interested in Irish language poetry and published some of his own poems in Irish in a magazine called Comhar.

In 1954, he went back to Spain, this time to Barcelona. He learned Catalan and Galician languages and met Catalan poets like Salvador Espriu. He even helped organize a poetry reading there. His first book, a collection of translated poems, was published in 1962.

Coming Back to Ireland and His Work

In 1963, Pearse published his first book of original poems in English, called Tongue Without Hands. After spending almost ten years in Spain, he moved back to Ireland in 1967. He worked as a poet and journalist, writing in both Irish and English. He published more poetry collections, including Faoistin Bhacach (in Irish) in 1968 and Expansions (in English) in 1969. He also translated old poems from a language called Galaicoportuguese in his book Friend Songs (1970).

From 1977 to 1978, Pearse hosted a weekly radio show called Oró Domhnaigh on RTÉ, Ireland's national radio station. The show featured Irish poetry, music, and stories. He also wrote a weekly column about the Irish language for the RTÉ Guide magazine for over ten years.

Pearse continued to publish many books. His Collected Poems came out in 2002 to celebrate his 75th birthday. In 2003, he released Done into English, a big collection of his translated works. It included poems from more than sixty poets and over a dozen languages! He said he translated every poem because he simply liked it.

Pearse was a co-founder of a literary magazine called Cyphers. He also became a member of Aosdána, an Irish organization that supports artists. Being part of Aosdána meant he received a special payment, which he called "a miracle" that helped him keep writing. In 2007, a special event was held at Trinity College Dublin to celebrate his 80th birthday, with many writers reading his poems.

His last collection of poems, At Least for a While (2008), talked about how Ireland was changing. He passed away on January 14, 2012, in Dublin, at the age of 84.

What People Thought of His Work

Many people admired Pearse Hutchinson's poetry. Michael Kenneally, a writer, said that Pearse's achievements were unique and hard to put into one simple category. The Irish Times newspaper called him "one of Ireland's most inventive" poets. They said his poems were often short and delicate, but they always showed his desire for what he called "true gentleness."

Pearse Hutchinson's Published Works

• Josep Carner: Poems (1962)
• Tongue Without Hands (1963)
• Faoistin Bhacach (1968)
• Expansions (1969)
• Watching the Morning Grow (1972) ISBN: 0-904011-00-3
• The Frost is all Over (1975) ISBN: 0-902996-34-7
• Selected Poems (1980) ISBN: 0-904011-28-3
• Climbing the Light (1985) ISBN: 0-904011-86-0
• The Soul that Kissed the Body: Selected Poems in Irish with translations into English (1990) ISBN: 1-85235-060-1
• Le Cead na Gréine (1992)
• Barnsley Main seam (1995) ISBN: 1-85235-155-1
• Collected Poems (2002) ISBN: 1-85235-312-0
• Done Into English: Collected Translations (2003) ISBN: 1-85235-315-5
• At Least For A While (2008) ISBN: 978-1-85235-448-0
• Mooie rode zijden liefde/Beautiful red silk love, bilingual: English/Dutch (2010, 2nd ed. 2012) ISBN: 978-90-813070-9-3