Donald J. Heffernan

(1940-2013)
Minnesota

Donal Heffernan served as adjunct professor of International Law at the University of Minnesota-Metro. He was formerly, and for many years, counsel to Cray Supercomputer Company and Silicon Graphics Inc. He also served as counsel for the American Indian Movement, and as a member of the Wounded Knee trial team in the 70s.

Heffernan is the author of Hillsides: Poems and Tales (Lone Oak Press, 1990), Orion (Lone Oak Press, 1993), and Duets of Motion: Poetry & Fiction (Lone Oak Press, 2001). His poetry has been published in Paintbrush, Artist Quarterly, and other literary magazines. Each year for some 15 years he led a regional group of Joyceans in readings for Bloomsday on June 16th in either Minneapolis or St. Paul.

In 2001, Heffernan received a fellowship from the Minnesota State Arts Board for literature and was invited to give workshops on poetry and business at the Fringe Club in Hong Kong and at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Heffernan was born on November 11, 1940 and raised on a farm near the Winnebago reservation town of Homer, Nebraska. He attended the University of Nebraska where he ran track; he obtained his B.A. in Political Science from the University of South Dakota, and his J.D. from William Mitchell College of Law.

Donal J. Heffernan passed away on October 27, 2013.