William Keohane

William Keohane is an Irish writer. His essays have been published in the Irish literary magazine The Stinging Fly, and men's magazine, British GQ.

Biography

Keohane graduated with an MA in creative writing from University of Limerick, and also holds an undergraduate degree in psychology and sociology from the same university.[1] He was New Irish Writing's poetry winner in March 2022.[2] In 2021, he was shortlisted for the Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award and received a Literature Bursary Award from the Arts Council. He was selected for the Poetry Ireland Introductions series.[3]

In 2023, he was announced as guest editor of Trumpet, an annual literary pamphlet.[4] As of 2022, Keohane is the current writer-in-residence at Ormston House, Limerick.[5] He has held residencies in Tin House, Portland, Oregon,[6] Cill Rialaig, County Kerry,[7] and SÍM in Reykjavík, Iceland.[8]

Keohane was invited to speak at Museum of Literature Ireland for the event celebrating 100 years of James Joyce's Ulysses in 2022.[9] He performed a reading of a sequence of 52 poems in the Belltable Arts Centre, Waterford Institute of Technology and Crawford Art Gallery.[10][11] The series, 'Boxing Day', reflects on Keohane's experience of gender transition.[12] In November 2022, he collaborated with the composer Ailís Ní Ríain and students in the University of Galway on the performance "Reflections on Loss: Poetry, Music and Performance".[13]

In May 2021,[14] Keohane founded Trans Limerick Community (TLC), a voluntary group that support trans people in the Limerick area and highlighting issues around access to appropriate healthcare and mental health support.[15][16] He has spoken out about his own experiences in accessing gender affirming healthcare, and the need to travel outside Ireland to do so.[12][17] He was invited to speak about TLC at Denise Chaila's concert at King John's Castle, Limerick in August 2022, when he also read two of his poems.[18]

Selected publications

  • 'Three Strands' in The Stinging Fly, issue 47: winter 2022.[19]
  • 'The story of a man’s face' in British GQ, July/August 2022.[20]
  • 'Postcard' and 'Anniversary' in the Irish Independent, March 2022.[21]
  • 'Cratloe Wood Lake' in Banshee, issue #12: autumn/winter 2021.[22]
  • 'Top surgery' in Poetry Ireland Review, Issue 134, Sept 2021.[23]

References and sources

  1. ^ "Graduate profile: William Keohane, MA in Creative Writing". University of Limerick. 12 May 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  2. ^ "New Irish Writing: Poetry from William Keohane". independent. 26 March 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  3. ^ "William Keohane: Boxing Day - Crawford Art Gallery". crawfordartgallery.ie. 10 January 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  4. ^ "Poetry Ireland Announces Guest Editor Appointments for 2023 Poetry Ireland Review and Trumpet | Poetry Ireland". www.poetryireland.ie. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  5. ^ Ormston (25 March 2022). "William Keohane". Ormston House. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  6. ^ "William Keohane". Tin House. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  7. ^ "Lime Square Poets featuring: William Keohane". Lime Square Poets. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  8. ^ "SÍM | Samband Íslenskra Myndlistarmanna | Reykjavík". SÍM. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  9. ^ "MoLI Bloomsday Museum of Literature Ireland". moli.ie. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  10. ^ "WILLIAM KEOHANE: Boxing Day - Crawford Art Gallery". crawfordartgallery.ie. 10 January 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  11. ^ "Join poet William Keohane as he presents the story of his transition through poetry". www.wit.ie. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  12. ^ a b Gilbart, Manon (4 March 2023). "Poet William Keohane opens up about his experience with gender transition". www.limerickleader.ie. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  13. ^ "Reflections on Loss: Poetry, Music and Performance". The Journal of Music. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  14. ^ Ormston (10 May 2021). "Trans Limerick Community". Ormston House. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  15. ^ Cantwell, Molly (19 October 2022). "Transphobia Causes Mental Health Issues: "Most people are struggling due to the stigma associated with being trans"". Hotpress. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  16. ^ Lee, Cathy (7 July 2020). "Kindness and understanding are key to supporting transgender community". Wexford People. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  17. ^ Donohoe, Katie (3 December 2019). "Young Limerick trans man launches fundraiser for top surgery". GCN. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  18. ^ Cantwell, Molly (22 August 2022). "Live Report: Denise Chaila shuts down King John's Castle with other-worldly performance". Hotpress. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  19. ^ "Winter 2022-23". The Stinging Fly. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  20. ^ "The story of a man's face". British GQ. 5 July 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  21. ^ "New Irish Writing: Poetry from William Keohane". independent. 26 March 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  22. ^ "'Cratloe Wood Lake' by William Keohane". Banshee Press. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  23. ^ "Top Surgery by William Keohane | Poetry Ireland". www.poetryireland.ie. Retrieved 26 February 2023.