Armagh City Chapter
in association with the John Hewitt Society celebrates
National Poetry Day
Thursday 3 October 2024
Armagh City Library – 7.30pm
with reading by Arlen House poets…
Maureen Boyle and Deirdre Cartmill
Maureen Boyle is the award-winning author of three books of poetry published by Arlen House, The Last Spring of the World (2022), Strabane (2022) and The Work of a Winter (2018). She was awarded the Ireland Chair of Poetry’s Inaugural Travel Bursary in 2017 for work on Anne Moore, wife of John Donne. Winner of the 2007 Strokestown Poetry Festival, her poetry is widely published in journals and anthologies.
Deirdre Cartmill is a poet, screenwriter and playwright. Her third poetry collection, The Wind Stills to Listen, was published by Arlen House in 2023. Her two previous collections, both published by Lagan Press, are The Return of the Buffalo and Midnight Solo. She is a former Artist-in-Residence at the Belfast International Arts Festival and was Belfast Cathedral’s Heritage Writer-in-Residence 2022-23.
In association with the John Hewitt Society, the City Chapter is pleased to celebrate the 2024 National Poetry Day with poets Maureen Boyle and Deirdre Cartmill. The poetry reading will be held on Thursday 3 October 2024 at 7.30pm in Armagh City Library. As has been the custom, the City Chapter partnership, which is made up of the four libraries in Armagh, shares the hosting of events and this year, it is the turn of Armagh City Library to do so.
The theme for National Poetry Day is ‘Counting’. Each year a theme is chosen to highlight particular poets and styles of poetry. This will also be the thirtieth anniversary of National Poetry Day and the City Chapter is keen to celebrate the anniversary, for it has held poetry readings on that day for more than twenty of those years.
Maureen Boyle is the author of three books of poetry. The most recent, ‘The Last Spring of the World’ was published in June 2022 by Arlen House, Dublin. She has received various awards including the Ireland Chair of Poetry Prize; the Strokestown International Poetry Prize, the inaugural Ireland Chair of Poetry Travel Bursary and the Fish Short Memoir Prize. Her most recent award is from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland to research the history of botanical embroidery for an ecological project in poetry. She is a poetry and memoir mentor with the Irish Writers’ Centre.
Deirdre Cartmill is a poet and writer, originally from Moy, County Tyrone. Her third collection ‘The Wind Stills to Listen’ was published by Arlen House in 2023. Previous collections are ‘The Return of the Buffalo’ and ‘Midnight Solo’ published by Lagan Press. Deirdre co-commissioned and co-curated Ireland’s first Poetry Jukebox which is now a permanent installation in Belfast. An award-winning scriptwriter, she has written for TV, theatre and radio. Deirdre holds an MA with Distinction in Creative Writing from Queen’s University and is a part-time lecturer in Creative Writing for Ulster University.
Speaking ahead of their poetry readings, Deirdre said, “Poetry helps me to count down the days and years. As I look back over my life, Armagh has always been a central part of it. My granddad was born in Armagh, so it has a special place in my heart. Growing up in the Moy, Armagh was always a part of my childhood. It has also been an important part of my professional writing life, so it’s a pleasure to be back reading in the city on National Poetry Day.”
Maureen said, “Having spent over 20 years coming to Armagh in July for the John Hewitt Summer School, it us a great honour to return to read with Deirdre for the National Poetry Day reading this year.”
The City Chapter wishes to thank publicly the John Hewitt Society for its support in putting on this event. Admission is free, with donations gratefully received for the City Chapter so that it may hold further events.
For further information, please contact Armagh City Library by telephone: 028 37524072