Hartnett, Michael [Mícheál Ó hArtnéide] (1941-1999), poet. Born in Croom, Co. Limerick, and educated locally, he moved to Dublin in 1963 where he co-edited the magazine Arena with James Liddy. He lived in Madrid and London, then returned to Dublin before moving to Newcastle West, Co. Limerick, in 1974. Anatomy of a Cliché (1968), a book of love-poems, draws upon the wit of the dánta grádha while allowing feeling images of surprising freshness. Translation was for Hartnett a means of studying the techniques of poetic language, as in The Hag of Beare (1969), a version of one of the most condensed examples of the early Irish lyrics. Gipsy Ballads (1973) contained versions of Lorca. A Farewell to English (1975) marked the end of a long apprenticeship in Irish. Cúlú Íde/The Retreat of Ita Cagney (1975) shows him exulting in the emotional spaciousness that Irish opened up for him, a freedom further exploited in Adharca Broic (1978) and An Phurgóid (1983). Do Nuala: Foidhne Chrainn (1984), a dark collection dedicated to Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, confronts selfdoubt. The first volume of Collected Poems (1984) contains a selection of his work in English; a second volume contains translations, including versions of his own poems in Irish (1986). Inchicore Haiku (1985) marked a return to English, while An Lia Nocht (1985) strips the psyche bare. A new phase announced itself in Poems to Younger Women (1989) and The Killing of Dreams (1992). Translations continued with An Damh-Mhac (1987), from the Hungarian of Ferenc Juhász; selections from Daibhí Ó Bruadair (1985) and Nuala Ní Domhnaill (1986); and versions of Pádraigín Haicéad (1993), Ó Rathaille (1998) reflecting his identification with Gaelic Ireland.




