Gabriel Rosenstock


Gabriel Rosenstock is an Irish writer who works chiefly in the Irish language. A member of Aosdána, he is a poet, playwright, haikuist, tankaist, essayist, and author/translator of over 180 books, mostly in Irish. Born in Kilfinane, County Limerick, he currently resides in Dublin.

Biography

Rosenstock's father George was a doctor and writer from Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, who served as a medical officer with the Wehrmacht in World War II. His mother was a nurse from County Galway. Gabriel was the third of six children and the first born in Ireland. He was educated locally in Kilfinane, then in Mount Sackville, County Dublin.
He exhibited an early interest in anarchism and was expelled from Gormanston College and exiled to Rockwell College. Later, he attended University College Cork.
His son, Tristan, is a member of the Irish traditional music quintet Téada, and impressionist/actor Mario Rosenstock is his nephew.

Work

Rosenstock worked for some time on the television series Anois is Arís on RTÉ, then on the weekly newspaper Anois. Until his retirement he worked with An Gúm, the publications branch of Foras na Gaeilge, the North-South body which promotes the Irish language.
Although he has worked in prose, drama and translation, Rosenstock is primarily known as a poet. He has written or translated over 180 books.
He has edited and contributed to books of haiku in Irish, English, Scots and Japanese. He is a prolific translator into Irish of international poetry, plays and songs. He also has singable Irish translations of Lieder and other art songs.
He appears in the anthology Best European Fiction 2012, edited by Aleksandar Hemon, with a preface by Nicole Krauss. He gave the keynote address to Haiku Canada in 2015.
His being named as Lineage Holder of Celtic Buddhism inspired the latest title in a rich output of haiku collections: Antlered Stag of Dawn, haiku in Irish and English with translations into Japanese and Scots Lallans.
Gabriel has worked with American photographer Ron Rosenstock, Indian Photographer Debiprasad Mukherjee, Greek photographer Kon Markogiannis, Dublin photographer Jason Symes, French photographer Jean-Pierre Favreau and many more to create the new guise of a photo-haiku - the interplay of visual aesthetic and literature.
He also writes for children, in prose and verse. Haiku Más É Do Thoil É! won the Children's Books Judges' Special Prize in 2015.
Gabriel trans created Thirukkural first time in the Irish Language in 2023. During the launch, happily honoured the Thiruvalluvar by kissing his feet with this saying

Awards and honours

  • Member of Aosdána
  • Laoch Lorcáin 2024
  • Lineage Holder of Celtic Buddhism
  • Former Chairman Poetry Ireland/Éigse Éireann
  • Corresponding Member Hellenic Authors' Society
  • Member of the Board of Advisors to Poetry India
  • Tamgha-I-Khidmat medal for services to literature.
  • Honorary Life Member Irish Translators and Interpreters Association
  • He taught haiku at the Schule für Dichtung, Vienna, and at the Hyderabad Literary Festival.
  • 2023 recipient of the Annual Children’s Books Ireland Award for his outstanding contribution to children’s books.

List of selected works

;Poetry in Irish and Bilingual editionsSusanne sa seomra folctha. Clódhanna 1973Méaram. An Clóchomhar 1981Om. An Clóchomhar 1983Nihil Obstat. Coiscéim, 1984Migmars. Ababúna, 1985Rún na gCaisleán. Taibhse, 1986Oráistí. Rogha dánta agus dánta nua. Cló Iar-Chonnachta, 1991Ní mian léi an fhilíocht níos mó. Cló Iar-Chonnachta, 1993Rogha Rosenstock. Cló Iar-Chonnachta, 1994Syójó. Cló Iar-Chonnachta, 2001Eachtraí Krishnamurphy. Coiscéim, 2003Forgotten Whispers / Cogair dhearúdta. 2003. Krishnamurphy Ambaist Coiscéim, 2004Rogha Dánta/ Selected Poems, translated by Paddy Bushe: CIC, 2005Bliain an Bhandé/ Year of the Goddess. Dedalus Press 2007Margadh na Míol in Valparaíso/ The Flea Market in Valparaíso CIC 2014Cuach ó Aois Eile ag Glaoch. Coiscéim, 2014Sasquatch. Arlen House, 2014Chogyam Trungpa: One Hundred Haiku , with English and Japanese translations. Amazon Kindle edition, 2014EVERY NIGHT I SEND YOU FLOWERS, Tanka in response to the art of Odilon Redon, bilingual. Cross-Cultural Communications, New York 2020The Road to Corrymore / Bóthar an Choire Mhóir, Ekphrastic tanka in Irish and English. Cross-Cultural Communications, New York 2021Mo Shaol Mar Scannán / My Life As A Film, a book length poem in praise of the moviesDrops of Water, haiku in English, Irish and Scots, free ebook 2023
;Criticism and essaysÓlann mo mhiúil as an nGainséis . Cló Iar-Chonnachta, 2003, Éist leis an gCruinne. Evertype, 2014,
;Poetry in EnglishCold Moon: The Erotic Haiku of Gabriel Rosenstock, 1993Portrait of the Artist as an Abominable Snowman. Selected Poems, translated from the Irish by Michael Hartnett, and New Poems, translated by Jason Sommer, Forest Books, 1989Forgotten Whispers, 2003, with John Minihan. HaikuHymn to the Earth. The Silverstrand Press, 2004. Uttering Her Name 2010 Salmon Poetry The Invisible Light 2012 Where Light Begins Original Writing Ltd, Dublin, 2012I Met a Man from Artikelly: Verse for the young and young at heart. Evertype, 2013, The Naked Octopus: Erotic haiku in English with Japanese translations. Evertype, 2013, Fluttering their way into my head: An exploration of Haiku for young people. Evertype, 2013, Duet of Waterfalls with Tatsuo Murata Japan Universal Poets Association 2015
;Novel in IrishLacertidae. Coiscéim, 1994
;Children's books
Rosenstock has written many books of poetry suitable for children. Here is a link to a small sample of them:Free Kids Books
;TranslationsMarch hare, 1994. Short stories from the Irish language author Pádraic BreathnachFull Moon: Ré Lán, Cló Ceardlann na gCnoc, 2010, Limited bilingual edition, Irish language translation of English haiku from the Nepalese haiku poet Janak SapkotaWhisper of Pines: Cogar na nGiúiseanna, Original Writing 2012. Irish language translations of English haiku from the Nepalese haiku poet Janak SapkotaThe Moon over Tagoto Beehive Publishers, 2015
  • An Thirukkural as Gaeilge, 2023, ISBN 978-1782013136 .
;Books in EnglishThe Wasp in the Mug: Unforgettable Irish Proverbs. Mercier Press, 1993Haiku Enlightenment Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2005Haiku, the Gentle Art of Disappearing Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2005The Pleasantries of Krishnamurphy Non-Duality Press, 2011My Head is Missing 2012 The Partisan and other stories. Evertype, 2014, CHE: Haiku Glimpse K, with Tatsuo Murata, Mariko Sumikura Japan Universal Poets Association
;DVD
;Recorded Media
;TextbooksBeginner's Irish, Hippocrene Books, New York, 2005, and

General links

Free books

  • Tanka in response to the art of Odilon Redon.
  • Ekphrastic tanka in Irish and English.
  • Tanka in Irish and English with vintage Indian matchboxes.
  • Bilingual ekphrastic tanka – poems of love, longing and emptiness – in response to artwork by various hands.
  • Bilingual tanka, in Irish and English, in response to artwork by various hands. Mystic poems of love, longing and emptiness in 5-7-5-7-7 syllables.
  • Bilingual tanka, in Irish and English, in response to artwork by various hands. Mystic poems of love, longing and emptiness in 5-7-5-7-7 syllables.
  • Tanka in Irish, English and Croatian, in response to artwork by the Croatian painter Alfred Krupa.
  • Tanka in Irish and English, in response to artwork by various hands.
  • Haiku and senryū in Irish, English, Scots, Japanese, inspired by artwork.
  • Haiku and senryū in Irish, English, Scots, Japanese, inspired by artwork.
  • Haiku in Irish and English, a celebration of the art of Issachar Ber Ryback.
  • free online haiku book, English language, 2012
  • free online book of tanka in Irish and English, to artwork by Sonia Rodrigues Sabharwal, 2022
  • after Gilbert White's classic The Natural History of Selborne; free online haibun in Irish and English, 2022
  • A website created in 2022 containing a vast treasurehouse of kids' stories and poems in Irish, collected over a number of years.