Dermody, Thomas

15 January 1775 – 15 July 1802

Irish-born poet and writer, something of a child prodigy in languages and poetic composition but undisciplined in his habits (which included heavy drinking). Despite repeatedly coming under the patronage of various literary-minded aristocracts and successful merchants, Dermody (who may have had a self-destructive streak) rarely managed to rise for more than a few weeks above abject poverty and the influence of low company. A brief stint in the army failed to create a sufficient sense of self-discipline in Dermody, and he died, penniless (and suffering from asthma, if not tuberculosis), at the age of twenty-seven.

Sites:
Brief biographical note
[Wikipedia]

The Life of Thomas Dermody [1806]
by James Grant Raymond
- Volume 1 ; Volume 2 [GoogleBooks]


Etexts:
"Deeds of Death"
An over-the-top Gothic romp — not a typical Dermody piece, for he was much more a neo-classicist than a Romantic Goth.
-- at LitGothic

The Harp of Erin
A collected posthumous edition of Dermody's poems.
- Volume 1; Volume 2

"More Wonders!" [1801]
A parody of Matthew Lewis' poetic style as manifested in Lewis' 1801 anthology of Gothic poems Tales of Wonder.
- at LitGothic, courtesy of Prof. Douglass H. Thomson

"Thomas Dermody."