A Poet at Work: Brendan Galvin's Papers at the Burns Library

January 19 – July 16, 2010

This exhibit uses the extensive manuscripts Brendan Galvin donated to the John J. Burns Library to illustrate his ways of making poems. Clippings of articles on a subject, often an aspect of natural history, are followed by research notes, sketches, drafts, and the gradual emergence of versions leading to the final poem as published.

Brendan Galvin is an Irish-American poet born in Everett, Massachusetts and now living in Truro on Cape Cod. Galvin graduated from Boston College in 1960 with a Bachelor of Science degree in the natural sciences. He holds both an MFA and a PhD from the University of Massachusetts. His poetry reflects his knowledge of and interest in nature.

Brendan Galvin has published twenty-one books and chapbooks of poetry. Atlantic Flyway (1980) was short-listed for the Pulitzer Prize, and Habitat: New and Selected Poems 1965-2005 was a National Book Award finalist in 2005. In April 2009 Galvin received the Arts Council Alumni Award for Artistic Achievement.

Related Links

View a list of Galvin's books available for check-out from O'Neill Library

Read Makings of a Poet, Boston College Magazine, Summer 2009

Watch Inside the BC Studio with Brendan Galvin, BC Front Row, April 2009

View the video on Front Row.