Joseph Woods

Who is Joseph Woods?

Joseph Woods is an Irish poet and Director of Poetry Ireland since 2001. Born in Drogheda, he studied biology, chemistry and subsequently took an MA in poetry. He has lived in Japan, travelled for long periods in Asia, in particular India and China, and more recently in Latin America.

His first two collections, Sailing to Hokkaido and Bearings, were published by the Worple Press, UK. For his first book, he won the Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award in 2000. He co-edited Our Shared Japan an anthology of contemporary Irish poetry concerning Japan. Dedalus Press gathered his first two collections in one volume entitled Cargo and in 2011 published his third collection Ocean Letters. He has read widely, reviews occasionally and contributes to radio.