This is part of a series highlighting some of the poets anthologized in Poetry of Presence. We thank the poets for providing the material. Today we shine the spotlight on Mary O’Connor.
Short bio: A native of Ireland, I’ve taught literature and writing to college students and older adults since 1977. My poems and short stories have appeared in Metre, Jacaranda Review, New Irish Writing, Columbia, America, NCR, Briarcliff Review, Contemplative Review and other journals, and my essays in numerous scholarly publications. A chapbook, Windows and Doors, appeared in 2012 from Finishing Line Press. Among my awards are a fiction prize from Listowel, poetry prizes from the Academy of American Poets, and residencies in Ragdale and The MacDowell Colony. I frequently conduct poetry retreats, and have organized writing sessions in a trafficking shelter. A member of the Mercy community since I was 17, I see poetry as a spiritual practice, one that invites both writer and reader to enter into a deeper awareness of themselves and the world around them.
A favorite quote: “Every single creature is full of God and is a book of God.” —Meister Eckhart
Poetry of Presence I & II 