John Montague, Best Known for His Volume, the Rough Field, Is Born

John Montague (28 February 1929 − 10 December 2016) was an Irish poet. Born in the United States, he was raised in Ulster in the north of Ireland. He published a number of volumes of poetry, two collections of short stories and two volumes of memoir. He was one of the best known Irish contemporary poets. In 1998 he became the first occupant of the Ireland Chair of Poetry (essentially Ireland’s poet laureate).

In 2010, he was made a Chevalier de la Legion d’honneur, France’s highest civil award.