Knowledge in the Blood

Macdara Woods was born in Dublin 1942. One of the senior figures in contemporary Irish poetry, he published his first collection Decimal D. Sec. Drinks In A Bar In Marrakesh with New Writers’ Press in 1970) while his second, Early Morning Matins, was published by The Gallery Press in 1973. Since then he has published many collections, and a number of selections with the Dedalus Press, including Stopping The Lights In Ranelagh (1987), Miz Moon (1988), The Hanged Man Was Not Surrendering (1990), Notes From The Countries Of Blood-Red Flowers (1994), Selected Poems (1996), Knowledge In The Blood: New and Selected Poems (2000), The Nightingale Water (2001), Artichoke Wine (2006), The Cotard Dimension (2011), Collected Poems (2012) and Music From the Big Tent (2016). His books in Italian include: Biglietto di Sola Andata (Moby Dick Editrice Faenza 1998) and Con Pesaro ai Miei Piedi (Volumnia Editrice Perugia, 1999). He translated The King of The Dead and other Libyan Tales by Redwan Abushwesha, with the author and Orla Woods Abushwesha (Martin Brian and O’Keefe, London, 1978). He was a co-founder and co-editor of Cyphers, the long-running literary journal, since 1975. He also edited The Kilkenny Anthology (Kilkenny Co Council, 1991) and Present Tense: Words and Pictures, with Jim Vaughan (Mayo Co Council, 2006). His Clare Island Sequence was commissioned for and included in 'this time, this place' (Mayo Co Council, 2007). Macdara Woods was a member of Aosdána. He died in June 2018.