John B. Keane was born on July 21, 1928. He attended St. Michael's College, Listowel. During his lifetime, he published 46 works including Sive (1959), The Field (1965), Big Maggie (1969), The Streets and Other Poems (1961), and Letters of a Successful T.D. (1967). He died from prostate cancer on May 30, 2002 at the age of 73.