Funny, lyrical, if occasionally difficult, Irish poet and librettist, Paul Muldoon was born to write; it is simply the only explanation for the endless and incredibly varied works he has published, or for the masterful hand with which he approaches the page. Born in 1951 in a rural county of Northern Ireland, Muldoon took an early interest in poetry and published his first collection, New Weather (1973), at the shy age of 21. While continuing to write and publish, Muldoon worked as a producer for the BBC until the mid-80s, when he moved with his wife to America. Muldoon planned to write freelance when he moved across the pond, and he soon found his efforts paying off when his work proved as successful with the American audience as it had been at home.
Muldoon’s work is best marked by his distinctive wit, his charming wordplay, and his expert use and creation of paradox. This style creates a playful and thought provoking canvas on which Muldoon explores political and societal issues, family dynamics, and rural life. His poems are experimental and genre-bending at times, and he enjoys subverting or altering classic forms; still, experimentation never hinders him from infusing his poetry with vibrant emotion.
In addition to his impressive fourteen full-length poetry collections, Muldoon has published countless children’s books, opera libretti, critical works, and scripts for both the stage and the screen. His equally-numerous accolades include the 2003 Pulitzer Prize and the 2017 Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry. He is currently settled in New Jersey with his family, where he is among the faculty at Princeton University and where he continues, always, to write. He has long been associated with the Bread Loaf School of English, in Vermont.