Mairéad Byrne


Mairéad Byrne, born in Dublin, is an Irish poet who emigrated to the United States in 1994. Author of five poetry collections, and other works, she is a professor of poetry and poetics at Rhode Island School of Design.

Education

Byrne earned a Bachelor of Arts in English Language & Literature from University College, Dublin, in 1977. She was awarded a Higher Diploma in Education from Trinity College, Dublin in 1994, before earning a Master of Arts in Literature and Creative Writing and a Ph.D. in Theory & Cultural Studies, both from Purdue University.

Poetry and other works

Byrne's poetry collections include You Have to Laugh: New and Selected Poems, The Best of Heaven, Talk Poetry, SOS Poetry, and Nelson & The Huruburu Bird ; and the chapbooks State House Calendar, An Educated Heart, Kalends, Vivas, and The Pillar.
In the Cambridge Companion to Twentieth Century British and Irish Women's Poetry, Lee Jenkins situates Byrne's poetics "in the global circuitry of diaspora, migration, and the information superhighway," identifying as a significant accomplishment that "she refuses to choose between formal innovation and radical theme," fusing commitments to both social justice and linguistic innovation. In an interview with Sina Queyras Byrne said, "I consider my work firmly in the tradition of Irish comic literature, both in early Irish and 20th century prose, especially Beckett and Flann O’Brien."
Books in collaboration with visual artists include Jennifer's Family, Michael Mulcahy, Eithne Jordan, and Joyce-A Clew. Byrne is also the author of two plays, The Golden Hair, and Safe Home, both of which received production grants from the Arts Council of Ireland / An Chomhairle Ealaíon. She was a freelance journalist in Ireland, writing features and reviews for all major magazines and daily newspapers, including In Dublin magazine, the Irish Times, and Raidió Teilifís Éireann; and The Village Voice and Provincetown Advocate in the United States.