Remembering MFA Alumna Ethna McKiernan

Ethna McKiernan, Minnesota poet and advocate for the poor, died Sunday morning at her Minneapolis home of complications from brain tumors. Her death was announced at St. Stephen’s Catholic Church in Minneapolis, where she was a longtime member of the community.

McKiernan, who was 70, is the author of five poetry collections. Her latest, “Light Rolling Slowly Backwards: New & Selected Poems,” was launched in August at Celtic Junction Arts Center in St. Paul.

Her previous collections are: “Caravan” (1989), “The One Who Swears You Can’t Start Over” (2002),  “Sky Thick With Fireflies” (2011), and “Swimming With Shadows” (2019). The last three were published by Ireland-based Salmon Poetry, one of the most important publishers in the Irish literary world.

From the Pioneer Press obituary https://www.twincities.com/2021/12/12/121221-pp-n-ethna/