WRITER PROFILE

Theo Dorgan interviews Ireland's most loved poet Brendan Kennelly. Brendan is in powerful form as he reminisces with Theo about his origins in Kerry and his love of the Irish language. He remembers that his first attempts at writing were ballads and poems about the many townlands in Kerry, requested by ordinary people leaving Ireland to work in England.

Brendan sees poetry "as a kind of bridge between people", and he explains how a lot of his poems draw inspiration from the beauty of the human voice. He takes this to interesting avenues when he talks about his poem 'Cromwell'. He believes that we should have internal dialogues with people that we might normally despise in order that we might come to understand them better.

In the same vein he talks about the new maturity in Ireland "where Protestant voices are beginning to let Catholic voices into their heart and Catholic voices are beginning to let Protestant voices into their hearts". Central to this interview is Kennelly's eloquent insistence that not only writers but everyone must have a desire to understand the other.

"Imagination is rebellious", says Kennelly hopefully as he laments the state of the present educational system that young people see much more "as a ticket into society" and much less about learning for life than ever before. As a lecturer in English at Trinity College, Dublin, he feels well-placed to comment on the changes taking place in society in general which, he feels, have resulted in less passionate engagement with language and its possibilities and a more utilitarian and drab approach to what a university education can offer.

A great moment in the interview is when Kennelly talks about meeting his friend and fellow poet Patrick Kavanagh shortly before his death. "What do you think of your life, I said to him. The answer he gave was so wonderful that I put it into a poem".

"I want no easy grave
where those who hated me
can come and stare
slide down upon servile knee
muttering the phony public prayer

In the wilds of Norfolk I'd like to lie
no commemorative stone, no sheltering tree
far from the hypocrites tongue and I
safe from the praise of my enemies


Biographical Details

Born 17th April 1936, Ballylongford, County Kerry and Educated at St Ita's College, Tarbert, County Kerry, TCD and Leeds University. He has lectured in English literature in TCD from 1963 to date, became Associate Professor of Modern Literature in 1969 and professor in 1973. He has lectured in US colleges and was Gildersleeve Professor of Literature at Barnard College, New York in 1971 and taught in Pennsylvania 1971-2.

His poetry collections include 'My Dark Fathers', 'Good Souls to Survive', 'Dream of a Black Fox', 'Love Cry', 'The Voices', 'Shelley in Dublin', 'Island Man', 'The House that Jack Didn't Build', 'The Boats Are Home', 'Cromwell', 'Judas', 'Poetry Me Arse', 'The Man Made of Rain', and 'The Singing Tree'. Editor of the Penguin Book of Irish Verse and co-editor of Ireland's 'Women: Writings Past and Present'.

He received The AE memorial prize for poetry 1967 and Critics' Special Harvey Award 1988. An eloquent and passionate man, his charm has made him a national figure through his appearances on radio and television.


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Running Time: 30mins
Year Made: 1999
Price: €20 - PAL (European), €30 - NTSC (US) plus P&P