D.S. (Diarmuid) Maolalai was born in Dublin and began writing poetry when he was studying English Literature at Trinity College. He spent five years travelling, living in Toronto and London and working various dispatch jobs. He returned to Dublin in late 2017. These many experiences have contributed to the flavour of cosmopolitan poetry in his work, melded with his Irish roots.
Cosmopolitan Poetry
Diarmuid’s poetry has appeared in many publications all over the world, most notably The Stinging Fly, Smithereens, The Passage Between, The Phoenix, The Shearsman, Two Thirds North, Hong Kong’s Voice and Verse and The Poetry New Zealand Yearbook. He has performed his work at BlueFire Arts Festival in Dublin.
His first collection, “Love is Breaking Plates in the Garden” was published in 2016 by Encircle Publications. Frank Montesonti described the work as “done with such craft and immediacy that even the jaded are compelled to feel again the bewildering, blessed wind of youth’s finest mistakes”.
Nominations
Diarmuid’s work has been nominated for Best of the Net and twice nominated for The Pushcart Prize.
Madcap Review nominated his poem “The cat-killed pigeon” for a Pushcart Prize. You can find the poem by following this link.
His poem “Mana” received a Best of the Net Nomination from La Revue/The Journal, available to read on this page.
“People in desperate situations” received a Best of the Net Nomination from Synchronized Chaos. To read it, follow this link.
One of Diarmuid’s poems was chosen for publication by the Moment Poetry project, which publishes and distributes poems in a visual format. Diarmuid’s poem can be found here.
Interview : Reflections on a Life in Poetry
Sad Havoc Among the Birds is Diarmuid’s first collection with Turas Press. It is a beautifully-crafted, witty and poignant exploration of the challenges of youth and urban living. To buy a copy, visit our online shop.