The Poet Durcan & I

Authors

  • Alan Gilsenan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37389/abei.v22i2.180770

Keywords:

Memory, Subjective reflection, Paul Durcan

Abstract

A personal and subjective reflection by writer and film-maker Alan Gilsenan on his memories and relationship with Paul Durcan and his poetry. Gilsenan has collaborated with Durcan on three film projects: an experimental film of the long poem Six Nuns Die in Convent Inferno; a documentary profile, Paul Durcan: The Dark School (1944- 1971); and the poet provided the voice for ULYSSES | FILM, a visual installation in response to the iconic novel by James Joyce, commissioned for Dublin’s new MOLI (Museum of Literature Ireland).

Author Biography

  • Alan Gilsenan

    Alan Gilsenan is an Irish writer, filmmaker and theatre director. His most recent work includes the cinema documentary Meetings with Ivor, the feature film Unless, based on a novel by Carol Shields and The Meeting, which he wrote and directed and premiered at the 2018 Dublin Film Festival. Gilsenan is a former chairperson of the Irish Film Institute. He also served on the Irish Film Board, and on the board of the International Dance Festival Ireland. Between 2009 and 2014, Gilsenan served on the board of Raidió Teilifís Éireann, where he chaired the Editorial and Creative Output Committee. He is currently on the Board of Fighting Words, a creative writing centre for young people founded by Sean Love & novelist Roddy Doyle.

References

Durcan, Paul, “Going Home to Mayo, Winter, 1949”, in Sam's Cross: Poems, Portmarnock: Profile Poetry, 1978.

Durcan, Paul, “Hymn To My Father”, in Going Home to Russia, Newtonards: The Blackstaff Press, 1987.

Durcan, Paul, “Ulysses”, in Daddy, Daddy, Newtonards: The Blackstaff Press, 1990.

Durcan, Paul, “Sport”, in Daddy, Daddy, Newtonards: The Blackstaff Press, 1990.

Durcan, Paul, “The Drimoleague Blues”, in A Snail in my Prime: New and Selected Poems, London: Harvill Secker, 1995.

Durcan, Paul, Paul Durcan’s Diary, Dublin: New Island Books, 2003.

Durcan, Paul, The Laughter of Mothers, London: Harvill Secker, 2007.

Durcan, Paul, “Breaking News”, in The Days of Surprise, London: Harvill Secker, 2015.

Durcan, Paul, “Visiting Elizabeth at Home”, in The Days of Surprise, London: Harvill Secker, 2015.

Sirr, Peter and Hartnett, Michael. “The Poet as Black Sheep”, in The Cambridge Companion to Irish Poets, edited by Gerald Dawe, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2017, pp. 294–306.

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Published

2020-12-20

Issue

Vol. 22 No. 2 (2020): ABEI Journal 22.2 — Celebrating Paul Durcan on his 76th Birthday

Section

Paul Durcan’s Poetry from the Irish and the International Perspectives

License

Copyright (c) 2020 Alan Gilsenan

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Gilsenan, A. (2020). The Poet Durcan & I. ABEI Journal, 22(2), 67-74. https://doi.org/10.37389/abei.v22i2.180770