Clarke, Austin (1896-1974), was a noted Irish poet and playwright. His poems are intensely personal and often deal satirically and critically with Irish social and cultural issues. Clarke wrote 18 volumes of poems, beginning with The Vengeance of Fionn (1917). His Collected Poems was published in 1974. Clark wanted to revive verse drama in Ireland and founded the Dublin Verse-Speaking Society (later the Lyric Theatre Company) in 1938. Clarke wrote several verse plays based on medieval Irish legends. They were published in Collected Plays (1963). Clarke also wrote three prose romances, critical works on Irish literature, and two books of memoirs, Twice Round the Black Church (1962) and A Penny in the Clouds (1968).
Clarke was born on May 9, 1896, in Dublin and educated there. He worked as a journalist and book reviewer in England from 1922 to 1937. Clarke died on March 20, 1974.
