Kathy D’Arcy is a poet, scholar and feminist activist based in Cork City. Originally trained as a doctor, she completed a Creative Writing PhD in UCC, where she taught with the Women’s Studies MA programme. She has also taught creative writing undergraduate and adult education courses. Her poetic practice involves walking ancient paths and engaging with the natural and cultural landscapes she encounters.
Mae Kathy D'Arcy yn fardd, ysgolhaig ac actifydd ffeministaidd sy’n byw yn Ninas Corc. Fe'i hyfforddwyd yn wreiddiol fel meddyg, cwblhaodd PhD mewn Ysgrifennu Creadigol yn UCC, lle bu'n dysgu gyda rhaglen MA Astudiaethau Menywod. Mae hi hefyd wedi dysgu cyrsiau ysgrifennu creadigol israddedig ac addysg oedolion. Mae ei gwaith barddol yn golygu cerdded llwybrau hynafol ac ymgysylltu â'r tirweddau naturiol a diwylliannol y mae'n dod ar eu traws.
Poetry and a ‘Cloud of Voices’
For Creative Connections Kathy worked – at a Covid-enforced distance! – with a range of people from Pembroke Dock, recording their memories and experiences of particular places. Her resulting Cloud of Voices offers a unique way of travelling through and around the port town with local guides whose insights are funny, poignant and thoughtful. In her poem ‘Trip’, Kathy describes the fascinating experience of finally making those journeys for herself.
Barddoniaeth a 'Cwmwl o Leisiau'
Ar gyfer Cysylltiadau Creadigol bu Kathy yn gweithio – a hynny ar bellter yn sgil Covid! – gydag amrywiaeth o bobl o Ddoc Penfro, yn cofnodi eu hatgofion a'u profiadau o leoedd penodol. Mae’r Cwmwl o Leisiau a gododd yn sgil hyn yn cynnig ffordd unigryw o deithio drwy’r dref borthladd ac o’i hamgylch gyda thywyswyr lleol y mae eu mewnwelediad yn ddoniol, ingol a meddylgar. Yn ei cherdd 'Trip', mae Kathy yn disgrifio'r profiad hynod ddiddorol o wneud y siwrneiau hyn iddi hi ei hun o'r diwedd.
Kathy D’Arcy
From 2012-2014 she was poet in residence with Tigh Filí (‘Poet’s House’’) Cultural Centre, Cork. Her poetry collections are Encounter (Lapwing 2010) and The Wild Pupil (Bradshaw 2012)
Rhwng 2012 a 2014 bu'n fardd preswyl gyda Tigh Filí ('Tŷ'r Bardd'), Canolfan Ddiwylliannol, Corc. Ei chasgliadau barddoniaeth yw Encounter (Lapwing 2010) a The Wild Pupil (Bradshaw 2012)
‘These are sensuous, tragic and edgy poems; and, without doubt, among the best poems I have read in years.’
Thomas McCarthy
In 2013 she was awarded an Arts Council Literature Bursary, and in 2014 an Irish Research Council Postgraduate Award to support the further development of her experimental, long-form poetry. She is part of the pro-choice campaign, and was Chair of Cork Together for Yes in the 2018 referendum campaign to legislate for abortion in Ireland.
Yn 2013 enillodd Fwrsariaeth Llenyddiaeth Cyngor y Celfyddydau, ac yn 2014 Gwobr Ôl-raddedig Cyngor Ymchwil Iwerddon i gefnogi datblygiad pellach ei barddoniaeth arbrofol a ffurf hir. Mae hi'n rhan o'r ymgyrch o blaid dewis, a bu’n Gadeirydd Cork Together for Yes yn ymgyrch refferendwm 2018 i ddeddfu o blaid erthylu yn Iwerddon.
Walking through different places is at the core of Kathy D'Arcy's creative practice as a writer, but during the Covid pandemic she instead had to rely on virtual ‘walks’ taken with local volunteers.
