Iggy McGovern (Ireland) has read for the Society on many occasions, including at the 2011 John Hewitt Spring School in Carnlough, the 2015 John Hewitt International Summer School, alongside Moyra Donaldson, and at the 2016 John Hewitt Birthday Reading, alongside Alan Gillis and Emma Must.
Iggy was born in Coleraine and educated in Belfast. He holds degrees in physics from Queen’s University, Belfast, and was Professor of Physics in Trinity College, Dublin until retirement in 2013, where he is now Fellow Emeritus.
He has published three poetry collections with Dedalus Press: “The King of Suburbia” (2005) which won the inaugural Glen Dimplex New Writers Award for Poetry; “Safe House” (2010); and “The Eyes of Isaac Newton” (2017). A poetic biography of the 19th-century Irish mathematician, “A Mystic Dream of 4”, was published by Quaternia Press in 2013. He edited the anthology “20|12: Twenty Irish Poets Respond to Science in Twelve Lines” (Dedalus/Quaternia. 2012). Other awards include the Hennessy Award for Poetry and The Ireland Chair of Poetry Bursary. He has presented his poetry at festivals in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Europe, North America and Australasia.