Michele Vassal Biography

Michèle Vassal is French, but writes mostly in English. She moved to Ireland at the age of seventeen. She remained in the country for another 30 years. She currently lives in France with her many cats, an enormous dog called Rosie and « him indoors » Brendan Ring, her harping, piping, yogi of a husband.
She has two collections, Sandgames and A Taste for Hemlock, both published by Salmon.
Her poems have been awarded 1st prize at Listowel's Writers Week and short listed for the Hennessy /Tribune Awards in Ireland as well as appearing in various international literary reviews. She has recorded her poetry with Jimi Slevin and others. She is currently working on a new bilingual collection.

What they said:
A Taste for Hemlock, is a mystical journey of transmutation birthed in the crucible of cultural dychotomy. Grounded in myths and storytelling, Michèle Vassal's vision is uncompromising, incisive, and laden with a rich painterly sensuality. In this book, she unravels, with honesty and sensitivity, the golden thread that runs through personal and collective memory, honouring both the frailties and beauty of our humanity.
Martin Egan

Michele Vassal has the rare gift of turning poetry into music. Each elegant, spare, melodic verse lingers in the mind like a beautiful song. Once read, never forgotten.
Ferdia McAnna

By far the best and most challenging collection of poems by a poet issued in 2011 is Michele Vassal's 'A Taste For Hemlock, ' (Salmon Poetry) with a cover by the author. Here is a European sensibility charging through the conventional staidness of much Irish contemporary work. It is richly to be hoped that this book receives the critical attention and promotion that it deserves; a book without decent promotion behind it by its publisher can often sadly wither and die. Ask for this book in bookshops or chase it up online.
by: Western Writers' Centre

...There's a Baudelairean sensibility and aesthetic at work in A Taste for Hemlock, a delight in and of the senses, a savouring and appreciation of all that the wide world has to offer, and the bitter flavour attendant on wisdom. There's also an understanding that the brightest moment of an object's life, whether that be an animal, plant or fruit, or even a human, is just before the turning point of decay or a bruise; but that this is cyclical and to be anticipated is one of our consolations for loss...
Alan Garvey- Gloomcupboard