James Daniel Reeves Liddy was born on July 1, 1934 in Dublin, Ireland and spent most
of his early life in Coolgreany, County Wexford. His father, James Liddy, was also
born in Ireland and worked as a dispensary doctor. His mother, Clare Liddy (née
Reeves), was born to Irish parents in New York. Liddy earned a Master's Degree in
English at the National University of Ireland in 1959 and a law degree from King's
Inns in 1961.
The publication of Liddy's poetry in The Irish Times
in 1959 marked the beginning of a literary career that spanned nearly 50 years. He
studied under Irish poet and novelist Patrick Kavanagh. His work was influenced by
Charles Baudelaire, James Joyce, Jack Spicer, Walt Whitman, W.B. Yeats, and Beat
writers such as Jack Kerouac.
Along with Liam O'Connor and Michael Harnett, Liddy launched and edited the
short-lived literary magazine Arena in the spring of
1963. The magazine presented the best prose and poetry of young Irish writers,
although its also published works of older and non-Irish writers. It ceased
publication in 1965 after only four issues. Liddy served as editor with several
other publications, most notably The Gorey Detail
from 1977 to 1983, which was produced during the Gorey Arts Fest in Ireland, and on
titles for the Blue Canary Press, a Milwaukee publication that he also
co-founded.
Shortly after Arena ended, Liddy began to travel,
first going to Spain. Eventually, he made his way to San Francisco where he got a
job teaching English at San Francisco State College in 1967. This was the first in a
series of teaching jobs in cities across the United States, including Portland, New
York, and New Orleans. He started teaching in the English Department at the
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1976.
Throughout his career, Liddy gave countless readings and contributed articles,
reviews, and poems to numerous publications. He wrote over 30 books and chapbooks of
poetry and prose. Liddy was internationally known and was among the first group that
was selected for membership to Asodána, the Irish association of artists. He
also won several awards, including the Posner Poetry Award in 1995 from the Council
of Wisconsin Writers. Liddy passed away on November 5, 2008 at the age of 74.
Chronology of Published Works
| 1962 |
Esau My Kingdom for a Drink: Homage to James
Joyce on His LXXX Birthday
|
| 1964 |
In a Blue Smoke
|
| 1968 |
Blue Mountain
|
| 1969 |
A Life of Stephen Dedalus
|
| 1971 |
Versheet 3: Homage to Patrick
Kavanagh
A Munster Song of Love and War
|
| 1975 |
Baudelaire's Bar Flowers
Orpheus in John French's Ice Cream
Parlour
|
| 1977 |
Corca Bascinn
|
| 1978 |
Comyn's Lay
|
| 1982 |
Chamber Pot Music
Moon and Star Moments
|
| 1983 |
A Life of St. Hedwig
|
| 1984 |
You Can't Jog for Jesus: Jack Kerouac as a
Religious Writer
At the Grave of Fr. Sweetman
|
| 1986 |
Young Men Go Walking
|
| 1987 |
A White Thought in a White Shade: New and
Selected Poems
|
| 1990 |
Art is Not for Grownups
In the Slovak Bowling Alley
|
| 1991 |
Trees Warmer Than Green: Notes Towards a Video of
Avondale House
|
| 1994 |
Collected Poems
|
| 1997 |
Epitaphery
|
| 1999 |
Poets in a Frieze and a Valentine
|
| 2000 |
Gold Set Dancing
|
| 2003 |
Yeats: New Ways of Falling in Love
I Only Know That I Love Strength in My
Friends and Greatness
Ideas of Gold Shadows
|
| 2004 |
Radio X-Mas
The Doctor's House
|
| 2006 |
On the Raft with Fr. Roseliep
|
| 2008 |
The Full Shilling
Askeaton Sequence
Wexford and Arcady
|
| 2010 |
Fest City
|
| 2011 |
It Swings From Side to Side
Rome That Heavenly Country
Selected Poems
|
