Published on October 1, 2013 by Sean Flynt  
Samford University will host acclaimed Irish poet Joan McBreen Monday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. in University Center’s Howard Room. McBreen’s poetry is rooted in vivid, evocative images of the Irish landscape, recalling the work of Paul Muldoon and Seamus Heaney. The most recent of her four collections of poetry is Heather Island.

In addition to her own writing, McBreen is a central figure in the preservation and translation of contemporary Irish poets. She is a significant anthologist of Irish poetry whose work includes The White Page / An Bhileog Bhán—Twentieth-Century Irish Women Poets and The Watchful Heart – A New Generation of Irish Poets – Poems and Essays.

McBreen’s free public reading at Samford is part of the Birmingham Area Consortium of Higher Education (BACHE) Visiting Writers Series.
 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.