| Pádraig Ó Tuama | |
| Nationality: | Irish |
| Education: | University of Glasgow |
| Genre: | Poetry, Theology, Conflict Mediation |
| Notableworks: | In the Shelter: Finding a Home in the World, Poetry Unbound: 50 Poems to Open Your World |
Pádraig Ó Tuama is an Irish poet, theologian and conflict mediator.
Ó Tuama was brought up in a Catholic family in County Cork, Ireland. His first language is English. He also speaks Irish.[1] Ó Tuama received a Bachelor of Arts in Divinity from the Maryvale Institute of Birmingham, England; a Master's of Theology from Queen's University Belfast,[2] and a PhD from the School of Critical Studies (Creative Writing and Theology) at the University of Glasgow.[3]
Ó Tuama has written three collections of poetry and a book of spiritual reflection.[4] His poetry has been featured in Harvard Review, RTÉ’s Poem of the Week,[5] Poetry Ireland, New England Review, The Kenyon Review and the Academy of American Poets' Poem-A-Day.[6] He has held numerous poetry residencies, most recently with The Church of the Heavenly Rest[7] in New York City, and the Morton Deutsch International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution at Columbia University.[8] He was profiled in The New Yorker in December 2022.[9]
Ó Tuama is a staff poet with the On Being Project, and hosts Poetry Unbound, a podcast produced by On Being Studios.[10] Poetry Unbound had been downloaded more than 10 million times by the end of 2022. Ó Tuama's book Poetry Unbound: 50 Poems to Open your World, an anthology based on the podcast of the same name, was published by Canongate and W.W. Norton in 2022.[11] Ó Tuama has featured on Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio Scotland and BBC Radio Ulster. He has presented Something Understood on BBC Radio 4, and An Saol Ó Dheas on RTÉ. In 2021, he hosted the first season of The Corrymeela Podcast, and an episode of On Being with Krista Tippett.[12] His interviewees have included Hanif Abdurraqib, The Edge, Mary McAleese, Martin Hayes, Billy Collins and Joy Harjo.[13]
In 2011, along with Paul Doran, Ó Tuama co-founded Tenx9, a storytelling initiative based in Belfast.[14] Tenx9 events have since been held in Nashville and Melbourne.
From 2014 to 2019, Ó Tuama was the leader of the Corrymeela Community, Ireland's oldest peace and reconciliation organisation. He has also collaborated with and worked for a number of other mediation organisations, including Co-operation Ireland, Mediation Northern Ireland, and Place for Hope. He is a frequent speaker at Greenbelt Festival.[15]
Ó Tuama is gay, and has been a vocal supporter of the legalisation of same-sex marriage.[16] He has been outspoken against the practice of ‘reparative’ or ‘conversion therapy’.[17]