John Jordan | |
|---|---|
 Portrait byReginald Gray, 1953 | |
| Born | (1930-04-08)8 April 1930 |
| Died | 6 June 1988(1988-06-06) (aged 58) Cardiff, Wales |
| Occupation | Poet, critic, short-story writer |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Education | University College Dublin;Pembroke College, Oxford |
John Jordan (8 April 1930 – 6 June 1988) was an Irish poet and short-story writer.[1]
Born in the Rotunda Maternity Hospital,Dublin on 8 April 1930, Jordan was educated atSynge Street CBS,University College, Dublin (U.C.D.) andPembroke College, Oxford. In his teens, he acted on the stage of theGate Theatre, Dublin, before winning a Scholarship in English and French toOxford University from U.C.D.
In the mid-1950s he returned to U.C.D. as a lecturer in English and taught there until the end of the 1960s. He also lectured on sabbatical leave at theMemorial University inNewfoundland and briefly atPrinceton University in the US. A founding member ofAosdána. He was a celebrated literary critic from the late 1950s until his death in June 1988 inCardiff, Wales, where he had been participating in the Merriman Summer School.
He was a short-story writer, a poet and a broadcaster. In 1962 he re-founded and edited the literary magazinePoetry Ireland (hoping "in the humblest of ways, to contribute towards the recreation of Dublin as a literary centre"). In this journal, he introduced a number of poets who were to become quite famous later, includingPaul Durcan,Michael Hartnett andSeamus Heaney. This series ofPoetry Ireland lasted until 1968–69. In 1981 he became the first editor of the new magazine published by the Poetry Ireland Society, calledPoetry Ireland Review. Reviewer of novels forThe Irish Times; wrote a column forHibernia; contributed toEnvoy andThe Irish Press, among others; TV presenter and arts interviewer. Defended Gaelic literature and translatedPádraic Ó Conaire. EditedThe Pleasures of Gaelic Literature (Mercier Press, 1977), and his translation of one ofAogán Ó Rathaille's essays was published in ThePleasures of Gaelic Poetry (London: Allen Lane, 1982). Championed the later plays ofSeán O'Casey.
HisCollected Poems (Dedalus Press) andCollected Stories (Poolbeg Press) were edited by his literary executor,Hugh McFadden, and published in Dublin in 1991. His Selected Prose,Crystal Clear, also edited by McFadden, was published by Lilliput Press in Dublin in 2006. Jordan'sSelected Poems, edited with an Introduction by Hugh McFadden, was published in February 2008 by Dedalus Press. Uncollected stories appeared inPenguin Book of Irish Short Stories,Cyphers, and theIrish Press, among other places. His literary papers & letters are now held in theNational Library of Ireland.
In 1953 the young Irish artistReginald Gray was commissioned by University College Dublin to design the decor and costumes for their production of "The Kings Threshold" by W.B. Yeats. The leading role was given to John Jordan. During the preparations for the production, Gray started aportrait of Jordan, which he never finished. This work now hangs in TheDublin Writers Museum, Ireland.
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