Maighread Medbh was born in Co. Limerick, Ireland, and now lives in Swords, Co. Dublin. Widely known for her experimental approach to text and powerful performance style, she has been described as ‘a unique presence in the Irish literary scene’. Following her debut poetry collection, The Making of a Pagan (Belfast: Blackstaff Press, 1990), the conviction that poetry emerges from one’s body led her to experiment with musical rhythms and moved her towards dramatic poetry. In the nineties, much of her work addressed political and social matters, and was primarily published in dramatic form. During this time, she was also writing novels and other works.
Maighread now has five published collections and a CD. Her most recent work, however, is non-fiction. Savage Solitude is a scholarly, dramatised study of the lone state, and was published by Dedalus Press in April 2013.