Joyce, Ann 1946-

PERSONAL:

Born 1946, in County Mayo, Connacht, Ireland; married. Hobbies and other interests: Celtic mythology.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Sligo, Ireland.

CAREER:

Poet. Founding member of Moylurg Writers Group, Boyle, Ireland; founder and facilitator of Ink Spots Writing Group, Sligo, Ireland.

WRITINGS:

Watching for Signs (poetry), Dedalus Press (Dublin, Ireland), 2005.

Also author of the poetry chapbook Threads from Maeve's Mantle, 2005. Contributor of poetry to anthologies, including Present Tense Words & Pictures: Poems and Photographs from County Mayo, edited by Macdara Woods and Jim Vaughan, Mayo County Council (Castlebar, Ireland), 2006, and Wingspan, edited by Pat Boran, Dedalus Press (Dublin, Ireland), 2006. Contributor of poetry to periodicals, including Poetry Ireland Review, ShoP, Atlanta Review, and Stand (England).

SIDELIGHTS:

Ann Joyce told CA: "The landscape in which I live has always provided the backdrop to my poetry. Living now at the edge of the Atlantic in an area steeped in history and mythology, it is inevitable that my poetry is influenced in some way by this place. Each day I look across the bay at Knocknarea, a mountain with a stone cairn at the top of it, the supposed burial place of the Celtic warrior queen, Maeve.

"I write about threshold moments in life, what we inherit from our past and the legacy we will leave our children.

"What has surprised me most in my writing is the fact that I must write regularly, that facing the white page is still such a challenge, and that I continue to torture myself."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, July 1, 2006, Patricia Monaghan, review of Watching for Signs, p. 22.

Roscommon Herald, December 7, 2005, "‘Watching for Signs’ Collection of Poetry Launched in Boyle."