Writing Poetry: And Getting Published

Matthew Gerard Sweeney was born in Lifford, Ireland on October 6, 1952. He studied German and English at the Polytechnic of North London and graduated in 1978. He was a poet. His collections of poetry included A Round House, The Lame Waltzer, Blue Shoes, Cacti, The Bridal Suite, A Smell of Fish, Sanctuary, Black Moon, The Night Post, King of a Rainy Country, and My Life as a Painter. He co-wrote Writing Poetry and Getting Published and Death Comes for the Poets with John Hartley Williams. He also wrote poetry collections for children including The Flying Spring Onion and Fatso in the Red Suit and Other Poems. He died from motor neuron disease on August 5, 2018 at the age of 65.

John Hartley Williams was born in Cheadle, Cheshire, England on February 7, 1942. He received a degree in English literature from Nottingham University. He taught English in France and then became an English lecturer at the University of Novi Sad, Serbia followed by the University of Cameroon. He received an MPhil from London University. In 1976, he was appointed to a lectureship at the Free University of Berlin. His first collection of poetry, Hidden Identities, was published in 1982. His other poetry collections include Bright River Yonder, Canada, and The Golden Age of Smoking. He wrote several books including Ignoble Sentiments, and Death Comes for the Poets and Writing Poetry and Getting Published with Matthew Sweeney. He also wrote pamphlets including A Poetry Inferno and works of translation including Marin Sorescu's Censored Poems and Scar on the Stone: Contemporary Poetry from Bosnia. He died from cancer on May 3, 2014 at the age of 72.