JOSEPH WOODS was born in Drogheda in 1966. He studied science and holds an MA in Creative Writing (Lancaster University). Widely published, he has read as far afield as Russia and India. In 2000 he won the Patrick Kavanagh Award. His first collection, Sailing to Hokkaido was published by Worple Press (2001). He has been Director of Poetry Ireland since 2001.
In Woods’ first book Eil’ean N’? Chuillean’ain wrote of a voice that was
“easy and melodic, sometimes casual, sometimes deceptively smooth but always alert, if Woods is technically expert it is not to dazzle but to reveal his subject matter. His work shows an impressive reach and range.”
Bearings sets out on a new trajectory, by criss-crossing “the middle country” Woods maps the interior of a more local landscape while remaining alert to the wider world. His wry observations of contemporary life and his evocation of the past always surprise.
CARGO
Winds that March in Dublin were dry,
a sirocco blew through St Stephen’s Green,
shook an ivy facade or two with its cargo of dust,
light from the Sahara settling everywhere. To run
your hand on a car was to have Africa on your fingertips.
