Leland Bardwell

Constan Olive Leland Bardwell (25 February 1922 28 June 2016) was an Irish poet, novelist, and playwright. She was born in India to Irish parents William Hone and Mary Collise, and moved to Ireland at the age of two. Her father's family were of the Anglo-Irish Hone family.[1][2]

Leland Bardwell
BornConstan Olive Leland Hone
25 February 1922[1]
India
Died28 June 2016(2016-06-28) (aged 94)
Sligo, Ireland
OccupationNovelist, poet, playwright
NationalityIrish
Alma materUniversity of London
Notable worksA Restless Life, Girl on a Bicycle
Website
www.irishwriters-online.com/bardwell-leland/

Life and reputation

Having moved from India, Bardwell grew up in Leixlip, County Kildare. She was educated at Alexandra School and later at the University of London.

She is considered an important poet by her contemporaries. On the publication of Bardwell's fourth collection of poetry, The White Beach, Eilean Ni Chuilleanain stated "it is good to see her work of the decades collected – it has inspired many Irish poets, male and female, and should be much more widely known", adding that her work was "witty, full of sharp intimate honesty, full of truth and surprises."[3]

It was recently announced that Bardwell's novel Girl on a Bicycle will be republished by Irish publisher Liberties Press.

Bardwell lived in Sligo and was a member of Aosdána. One of her children is the composer John McLachlan.

Published works

Poetry

  • The Mad Cyclist [New Writers' Press, 1970]
  • The Fly and the Bed Bug [Beaver Row Press, 1984]
  • Dostoevsky's Grave: Selected Poems [Dedalus, 1991]
  • The White Beach: New and Selected Poems, 1960-1998 [Salmon Publishing, 1998]
  • Them's Your Mammy's Pills [Dedalus, 2015]

Prose Bardwell has published four novels:

  • Girl on a Bicycle [Irish Writers Co-operative, 1977]
  • That London Winter [Co-op Books, 1981]
  • The House [Brandon, 1984]
  • There We Have Been [Attic Press, 1989]

A collection of short stories:

  • Different Kinds of Love [Attic Press, 1987]

And a memoir:

  • A Restless Life [Liberties Press, 2008]

Plays Bardwell's plays have been produced by RTÉ and BBC.[4]

Editor

In 1975, she co-founded the long running literary magazine Cyphers.

References

  1. "Irish Writers Online - Bardwell, Leland". irishwriters-online.com. 17 July 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  2. Pine, Richard (24 July 2016). "Leland Bardwell obituary". theguardian.com. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-02-01. Retrieved 2009-06-17.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-07-25. Retrieved 2009-06-17.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  • The author's entry on Irish Writers Online
  • The Irish Independent's review of "A Restless Life"
  • Liberties Press The author's publishers
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