The John Hewitt Society presents…
JOHN HEWITT’S BIRTHDAY READING
with Grace Wells, Deirdre Cartmill & Maria McManus
Date: Wednesday 25th October 2023
Time: 8.00pm
Venue: The John Hewitt Bar, Donegall Street, Belfast.
Tickets: £8 & £7 (Conc.)
Book online here…
Box Office: +44 (0) 28 9024 6609, call into Visit Belfast, or pay at the door.
Three critically acclaimed Irish poets will read from recent work to mark the birth date of the celebrated Belfast born poet, socialist and the 1983 Freeman of the City of Belfast, John Hewitt, in the bar named after him in Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter.
Grace Wells is an award-winning eco-poet and environmental writer. Her three poetry collections have all been published by Dedalus Press, the most recent, The Church of the Love of the World, which was shortlisted for the Farmgate National Poetry Award. She was a winner of the Eilís Dillon award and the Rupert and Eithne Strong Debut collection award. In 2021, she was awarded the Poet Laureate for Ennistymon, Co Clare where she now lives.
Deirdre Cartmill’s third poetry collection, The Wind Stills to Listen, was published by Arlen House in 2023, a follow up to her first two poetry collections, The Return of the Buffalo (Lagan Press, 2012) and Midnight Solo (Lagan Press, 2004). A former Artist-in-Residence at the Belfast International Arts Festival, she was Belfast Cathedral’s Heritage Writer-in-Residence for 2022-23.
Maria McManus’s poetry collections include, Available Light, (Arlen House), We Are Bone, The Cello Suites and Reading the Dog (Lagan Press). Ellipses, a limited-edition hand-made pamphlet, was published in 2021. She is a founder of Quotidian – Word on the Street Limited, dedicated to putting literature, especially poetry, into innovative public spaces intended to engage the general public and not just a literary audience. Her work has been broadcast on RTE and on the BBC World Service.
Presented in association with the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Poetry Ireland & Belfast International Arts Festival.