Michael Longley was born in Belfast in 1939 to English parents. For his third
level education he chose to read Classics at Trinity College, Dublin. In the
late 1960's and early 1970's, he established a reputation as one of several
Irish poets who were speaking with a new voice. Among the other Poets' of that
time were Séamus Heaney, Derek Mahon and Eavan
Boland. His first volume of poetry "No Continuing City" (1969)
was well received. Though his work developed greatly in later volumes, even
in his earliest poems it was clear that he had a highly controlled style and
that he was a fine craftsman of formal poetry. In his later volumes he began
to address such issues as the political and social troubles in Northern Ireland
and to contemplate ever more deeply the meaning of artistic identity. Many regard
"The Echo Gate" (1979) as his most important collection. In
it Longley displayed a markedly deeper awareness of the emotional life than
in his earlier work.
Longley worked as a school teacher in Dublin, London and Belfast but from 1970
to 1991 he worked mainly for the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. He is married
to the critic Edna Longley and they live in County Mayo.
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Excerpts:
"He collapsed beside his carpet-slippers
Without a murmer, shot through the head
By a shivering boy who wandered in
Before they could turn the television down
Or tidy away the supper dishes.
To the children, to a bewildered wife,
I think 'Sorry Missus' was what he said."
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