International - Surreal Man

Paintings by Giorgio de Chirico and Rene Magritte provide a springboard for Ciaran O’Driscoll’s engagement with the theme of surrealism. He moves from art to surreal aspects of the contemporary world, in particular war and the increasing isolation of the individual in a greed-driven society. These poems are stories, anecdotes and impressions relayed through various voices. Dark absurdities and contradictions, banalities and pretensions are exposed by O’Driscoll’s characteristically cutting wit, and here and there a beacon of hard-won hope lights a way through the globalising gloom. 'He transforms… details of solitude into a semi-surrealist vision of our world. We need such hard-won high spirits.' John Montague 'Ciaran O’Driscoll is a poet of the first order.' Pearse Hutchinson, The RTE Guide With its blend of dark humour and lyrical craft, it's no surprise that Ciaran O'Driscoll's poetry has received international acclaim. His work combines a killer sense of humour with the acumen and verbal dexterity gained over a lifetime creating and teaching art and literature. He has read from his work and lectured on art and literature throughout Europe and America. Ciaran was born in Callan, Co. Kilkenny in 1943, and presently lives in Limerick. He is a retired lecturer from the School of Art and Design at the Limerick Institute of Technology. In 2007, he was elected to Aosdána, an institution established by the Irish Arts Council to honour Irish artists and writers who have made an outstanding contribution to art and literature. He is an Entry in The Oxford Companion to Irish Literature (1996) as well as its Concise version (2000). He has published six collections of poetry: Gog and Magog (Salmon Poetry, Galway, 1987); The Poet and His Shadow (Dedalus Press, Dublin, 1990);…