William Keohane
William Keohane is an Irish writer and transgender activist. His essays have been published in the Irish literary magazine The Stinging Fly, and men's magazine, British GQ.
Biography[edit]
Keohane graduated with an MA in creative writing from University of Limerick, and also holds an undergraduate degree in psychology and sociology from the same university.[1] He was New Irish Writing's poetry winner in March 2022.[2] In 2021, he was shortlisted for the Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award and received a Literature Bursary Award from the Arts Council. He was selected for the Poetry Ireland Introductions series.[3]
In 2023, he was announced as guest editor of Trumpet, an annual literary pamphlet.[4] As of 2022, Keohane is the current writer-in-residence at Ormston House, Limerick.[5] He has held residencies in Tin House, Portland, Oregon,[6] Cill Rialaig, County Kerry,[7] and SÍM in Reykjavík, Iceland.[8]
Keohane was invited to speak at Museum of Literature Ireland for the event celebrating 100 years of James Joyce's Ulysses in 2022.[9] He performed a reading of a sequence of 52 poems in the Belltable Arts Centre, Waterford Institute of Technology and Crawford Art Gallery.[10][11] The series, 'Boxing Day', reflects on Keohane's experience of gender transition.[12] In November 2022, he collaborated with the composer Ailís Ní Ríain and students in the University of Galway on the performance "Reflections on Loss: Poetry, Music and Performance".[13]
In May 2021,[14] Keohane founded Trans Limerick Community (TLC), a voluntary group that support trans people in the Limerick area and highlighting issues around access to appropriate healthcare and mental health support.[15][16] He has spoken out about his own experiences in accessing gender affirming healthcare, and the need to travel outside Ireland to do so.[12][17] He was invited to speak about TLC at Denise Chaila's concert at King John's Castle, Limerick in August 2022, when he also read two of his poems.[18]
Selected publications[edit]
- 'Three Strands' in The Stinging Fly, issue 47: winter 2022.[19]
- 'The story of a man’s face' in British GQ, July/August 2022.[20]
- 'Postcard' and 'Anniversary' in the Irish Independent, March 2022.[21]
- 'Cratloe Wood Lake' in Banshee, issue #12: autumn/winter 2021.[22]
- 'Top surgery' in Poetry Ireland Review, Issue 134, Sept 2021.[23]
References and sources[edit]
- ^ "Graduate profile: William Keohane, MA in Creative Writing". University of Limerick. 12 May 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ^ "New Irish Writing: Poetry from William Keohane". independent. 26 March 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ^ "William Keohane: Boxing Day - Crawford Art Gallery". crawfordartgallery.ie. 10 January 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ^ "Poetry Ireland Announces Guest Editor Appointments for 2023 Poetry Ireland Review and Trumpet | Poetry Ireland". www.poetryireland.ie. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ^ Ormston (25 March 2022). "William Keohane". Ormston House. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ^ "William Keohane". Tin House. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ^ "Lime Square Poets featuring: William Keohane". Lime Square Poets. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ^ "SÍM | Samband Íslenskra Myndlistarmanna | Reykjavík". SÍM. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ^ "MoLI Bloomsday Museum of Literature Ireland". moli.ie. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ^ "WILLIAM KEOHANE: Boxing Day - Crawford Art Gallery". crawfordartgallery.ie. 10 January 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ^ "Join poet William Keohane as he presents the story of his transition through poetry". www.wit.ie. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ^ a b Gilbart, Manon (4 March 2023). "Poet William Keohane opens up about his experience with gender transition". www.limerickleader.ie. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
- ^ "Reflections on Loss: Poetry, Music and Performance". The Journal of Music. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
- ^ Ormston (10 May 2021). "Trans Limerick Community". Ormston House. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
- ^ Cantwell, Molly (19 October 2022). "Transphobia Causes Mental Health Issues: "Most people are struggling due to the stigma associated with being trans"". Hotpress. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
- ^ Lee, Cathy (7 July 2020). "Kindness and understanding are key to supporting transgender community". Wexford People. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
- ^ Donohoe, Katie (3 December 2019). "Young Limerick trans man launches fundraiser for top surgery". GCN. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
- ^ Cantwell, Molly (22 August 2022). "Live Report: Denise Chaila shuts down King John's Castle with other-worldly performance". Hotpress. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
- ^ "Winter 2022-23". The Stinging Fly. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ^ "The story of a man's face". British GQ. 5 July 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ^ "New Irish Writing: Poetry from William Keohane". independent. 26 March 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ^ "'Cratloe Wood Lake' by William Keohane". Banshee Press. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ^ "Top Surgery by William Keohane | Poetry Ireland". www.poetryireland.ie. Retrieved 26 February 2023.