I found out that Michael Hartnett, (1941-1999) was one of the most unusual voices of late twentieth century Irish poetry.
So sadly, it's a little too late to get to know him now.
But not all is lost.Anyone can get acquainted with him again either by reading his biography on his website or by writing a poem for him.
The Limerick Writers' Centre in association with Limerick County Arts Office are looking for poetry submissions relating to the poet Michael Hartnett for a special publication to be released later this year.
The Limerick tea-boy who worked in the construction industry in London started his love affair with the Irish Language and never let it go.
The Bio ( 3 page long) says about him:
In 1975 Michael published a collection called "A Farewell to English". In this he proposed to stop writing in English and to "court the language of my people" by writing solely in Irish. Nice expression.
At the time this as a very controversial move, which alienated Michael from many literary circles. (fair play to him)
In the early 1980s, alcoholism started to take hold of Michael his writing (ah the joy of being a real writer!) and personal life suffered immensely. In 1984, Michael’s marriage broke down. (ah the joy of being a real writer!! ;-)))
He wrote both in the Irish and English language and was a prolific translator. He also was the first Irish poet to use the Haiku form, a form that is now very popular. We are looking for poems (in Irish or English) that feature, reference or are dedicated to Michael Hartnett. If you have written such a poem and would be interested in having it considered for inclusion please email it to limerickwriterscentre@gmail.com with Hartnett in the subject box, together with your biographical details.
http://www.michael-hartnett.com/ for further information on the poet.
You can check the details on Facebook too.
http://www.facebook.com/notes/limerick-writers-centre/call-for-submissions/349395091755297
Good luck and keep on writing.
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