A full book auction will take place in Mitchelstown this Saturday, and at its heart is the library of Roz (Rosaleen) Cowman, the Corkwoman who was also the first-ever female recipient of the Patrick Kavanagh Award in 1985.
The auction features a broad range of materials, including a 1982 original Bosco doll made by Slieve Bawn Handcraft; the doll is estimated at between €100 and €150. Other items of interest are a 1918 map of Killarney, a 1936 first edition of Aldous Huxley’s ‘Eyeless in Gaza’, as well as a 1981 first edition of Nell McCafferty’s ‘In the Eyes of the Law’, a collection of her articles from her time as a District Court reporter.
Roz Cowman was born in Cork, but raised and educated in Clonmel. Her writings include the 1989 collection, ‘The Goose Herd’. Her library, say Ray Alley Auctioneers, includes works on feminism, gender theory, critical theory and comparative literature. It also includes specific interest areas such as the Cavalier era, nature, psychology, and Hungarian literature, reflecting her work as a translator of Hungarian poetry. The collection also contains hundreds of poetry books, including many signed editions, with a particular focus on Irish poets from the 1980s and 1990s.
The auction takes place on Saturday at 11am at the former Kitchen Garden premises on Georges Street and online; the items can be viewed online in advance of the sale.
 Cowman, the Corkwoman who was also the first-ever female recipient of the Patrick Kavanagh Award in 1985. ){kind=link}