Irish poet and writer Eamonn Wall to hold reading, discussion March 22

Irish poet and writer Eamonn Wall will be coming to the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University in honor of former CSB President Sister Colman O’Connell, OSB.

Wall, a native of Enniscorty, County Wexford, Ireland, will have a discussion and reading from his collection of poetry, “Junction City: New & Selected Poems 1990-2015,” from 4-6 p.m. Wednesday, March 22, at The Saint John’s Pottery Studio. The book is compilation of Wall’s best and exemplary poems from his six previous books of poetry.

A reception with a buffet and beverages will precede the program, and CSB/SJU associate professor of music J. David Arnott will be performing Irish music.

While the event is free and open to the public, space is limited. Please RSVP to Lori Moe if you plan to attend.

Besides his books of poetry, Wall has written “Writing the Irish West: Ecologies and Traditions,” a comparative study of the representation of the Irish and American West; and numerous essays, articles and reviews of Irish, Irish-American and American writers.

Wall’s works have appeared in The Irish Times, New Hibernia Review, Irish Literary Supplement, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, South Carolina Review, An Sionnach, Cyphers, Literary Matters, and other journals.

Wall was educated at the University College Dublin, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the City University of New York, where he received a doctorate in English. He is a longtime member of the American Conference for Irish Studies, and served as president of the organization from 2005-07. He currently serves as vice-president of Irish American Writers and Artists. He is also a founder of Scallta Media—an initiative to promote the work of up-and-coming County Wexford creative artists.  

When not writing, Wall is the Smurfit-Stone Professor of Irish Studies and Professor of English at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He is also the director of UMSL’s summer study abroad program in Galway, Ireland, which is held at the National University of Ireland, Galway, each June and July.

It is the third year in a row that O’Connell has been honored with a presentation from an Irish poet or writer. Past guests have included author Áine Greaney (2016) and poet Theo Dorgan (2015). The goal is to introduce a writer to the CSB/SJU community who complements an Irish theme in both culture and the arts.

The event is sponsored by the Saint John’s University Chair in Critical Thinking, The Saint John’s Pottery, the CSB/SJU Department of English and the CSB Literary Arts Institute.