|
|
|
Summer at the Seamus Heaney Centre
|
|
The First Collection Poetry Prize 2019
The winner of this year's prize was Unearthly Toys: Poems and Masks, by Ned Denny (Carcanet, 2018). Ned will be travelling to New York in November to read at Poetryfest, and at Glucksman Ireland House, NYU.
L-R: This year's judges Stephen Sexton, Nick Laird, and Edna Longley, with prizewinner Ned Denny.
|
|
|
Some of the shortlisted writers joined us on the night including Fiona Moore, Abigail Parry, and Phoebe Power pictured here with Ned. Hannah Sullivan and Matt Howard (also shortlisted) were unable to join us, but their books were all in attendance!
Read more about the Seamus Heaney First Collection Poetry Prize here.
|
|
|
The Seamus Heaney Poetry Summer School
We welcomed a brilliant bunch to the Centre earlier this month for an incredible week of writing, reading, and discussion. Thanks to Professor Nick Laird who led the programme (pictured here at the Student Showcase), assisted by Dr Padraig Regan. And congratulations to the students, Kate Arthur, Steffi Buchler, Jamie Field, Chris Ketchum, Sime Knezevic, Kelly Konya, Matthew McGlinchey, Nadine Milne, Estelle Price, Ruth Quinlan, and John Reid on making it through an intense week!
|
|
|
Fulbright Scholar Michael MacDonald has readings over the summer, along with youth workers and mental health advocates from his community based storytelling workshops.
Find him at No Alibis Bookstore on Thu 18 Jul and at Feile an Phobail on Tue 6 Aug.
|
|
|
Minnowburn Acoustic Picnic
Sun 4 Aug, from 1.00-5.00pm
The Terrace Hill Garden, Minnowburn
FREE byo picnic
Marking the 50th anniversary of Pop for Peace, the idealistic and ambitious concert and peace rally that took place on the site in 1969. There will be music, spoken word and poetry responding to the site, and the occasion, featuring new work by our MA student Bethany Ashley.
|
|
|
If All the World and Love Were Young, by Stephen Sexton
Thu 29 Aug - PRE ORDER NOW
We're all awaiting the arrival of our lecturer Stephen Sexton's new collection, If All the World and Love Were Young (Penguin, 2019) which has already been shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection.
Relating traditions of elegy and pastoral to the world of Super Mario, Stephen's debut collection is 'a daring, moving and lyrically beautiful exploration of memory, grief and the unreal'.
|
|
|
John Hewitt Society Summer School
Market Place Theatre & Arts Centre, Armagh
The JHSSS are generously offering some free passes to Heaney Centre students to three events on either Tue 23 Jul OR Wed 24 Jul. Events are listed below.
RSVP to Paul at infori...@gmail.com by Wed 17 July!
|
|
|
Tuesday 23 July
11.15am - Poetry: Mona Arshi & Zaffar Kunial
1.30pm - Ann Cleeves in conversation with Brian McGilloway
6.30pm - Robert Ballagh in conversation with J.B. Vallely
Wednesday 24 July
11.15am - Poetry: Fiona Benson & Mary Jean Chan
1.30pm - Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi in conversation with Maureen Boyle
6.30pm - Panel Discussion: Reporting the Troubles
For more info on the events and to book tickets for the rest of the festival, visit the website.
|
|
|
The outgoing SHC Fellows, Iain Archer, Lucy Caldwell, and Lisa McGee have completed their final visits with students, and have assured us they will drop in whenever they happen to be in town! We'll keep an eye out for their next adventures, albums, collections, programmes and plays.
Iain Archer, Lucy Caldwell, and Lisa McGee were interviewed back in March and can be seen here talking about the SHC Fellowships.
|
|
|
Myra Zepf has finished her action-packed two years as the inaugural Children's Writing Fellow for NI. Not only has she inspired and encouraged hundreds of children to read, write and tell their stories, but she also managed to publish 5 books of her own and translate 3 more!
The Children's Writing Fellowship is part of the Heaney Legacy Project, a ten-year fund between Queen's University Belfast and the Arts Council for NI supported by the Atlantic Philanthropies.
|
|
|
The next International Visiting Poetry Fellow Kathleen Jamie, will join us in November 2019 to work with our students, and take part in public events at the University and the Heaney HomePlace.
Kathleen Jamie (b. 1962) is from the west of Scotland. Her collections have won the Costa Poetry Prize, the Forward Prize, and the Saltire Scottish Book of the Year Award. Her non-fiction books are highly regarded for their important contributions to 'new nature writing'.
|
|
|
|
We'll be announcing the forthcoming SHC Fellows 2019-20 and the next Children's Writing Fellow NI very soon!
|
|
|
The River Mill Internship
Our MA in Poetry student Jake Hawkey is currently undertaking the internship at the River Mill Writers' Retreat near Downpatrick, acting as host at the Mill 2 days a week, preparing meals and supporting the resident writers.
The rest of the time he has been producing new work towards his debut pamphlet, meeting the local wildlife and of course, preparing for the new term at the Seamus Heaney Centre!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
