Leading Irish poet Micheal O'Siadhail will visit Chicago this fall for a series of events in celebration of The Essential Poems, the capstone collection of his decades-spanning career, recently published by Northwestern University Press. O’Siadhail will be hosted by Ireland House Chicago, The American Writers Museum, and the Block Museum of Art for a series of public appearances in October. Full details on the tour and book are below.
Mary McAleese, former President of Ireland, says of O’Siadhail’s latest collection:
“Just as the world wearies and worries us with its pervasive God awfulness, along comes the rebirth of faith in humanity that is Micheal O'Siadhail’s utterly, utterly wonderful collection, The Essential Poems. Here is proof of an indomitable essence that will not submit to the inevitability of self-inflicted misery but will insist like Dante that we will see the stars again. O’Siadhail is the Dante of our day.”
Micheal O’Siadhail’s Chicago Tour:
Ireland House Chicago, A Poetic Celebration of Irish America 250 in collaboration with the Irish Consulate • October 6, 2026 • 6 pm – 8:30 pm
O'Siadhail will be introduced by Acting Consul General Pádraig Manning, then deliver a reading, including “Irish America,” the poem commissioned by Irish America 250. Book sales and signing will follow.
The Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University • October 7, 2026 • 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm
O'Siadhail will be introduced by Parneshia Jones, Director of Northwestern University Press, then deliver a reading and Q&A. Book sales and signing will follow
The American Writers Museum • October 8, 2026 | 11:30 am – 1:30 pm
O'Siadhail will be introduced by Carey Cranston, President of the American Writers Museum, then deliver a reading and Q&A. Book sales and signing will follow.
Micheal O’Siadhail’s The Essential Poems:
From his debut collection, The Leap Year (1978), to his latest collection, Desire (2023), O’Siadhail captures evolving struggles with love, faith, and humanity. Here, spanning the entirety of his outstanding career, is the essence of his masterful body of work. A lyrical meditation on the relationships between humanity and nature, despair and faith, and the richness of courage in the acts of healing completes what proves to be this unforgettable and necessary collection of the inimitable Irish poet.
Micheal O'Siadhail was born in Dublin in 1947. He was educated at Trinity College Dublin and the University of Oslo. A full-time writer, he has published eighteen collections of poetry, receiving numerous awards, including the Marten Toonder Prize for Literature and the Irish American Cultural Institute prize for poetry.
