Eavan Boland (1944—2020) was the author of more than a dozen volumes of poetry, including Outside History and several volumes of nonfiction, and was coeditor of the anthology The Making of Poem. Born in Dublin, Ireland, she was one of the foremost female voices in Irish literature. She received a Lannan Foundation Award and an American Ireland Fund Literary Award, among other honors. She taught at Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, Bowdoin College, and Stanford University, where she was the director of the creative writing program.

"Boland combines impeccable craft, resilient metaphors and, above all, moral authority in order to witness human difficulties. Critics already align her ideas with those of Adrienne Rich and Margaret Atwood, and I'd add Toni Morrison, Nadine Gordimer and William Gass." -- Jan Garden Castro - The Nation "One of Ireland's finest contemporary writers, as passionate and ambitious as Kenneally, as classical and meticulous as Heaney... This is profound moving work from a poet at the height of her powers." -- Booklist