Poetry Clips

Leontia Flynn was born in County Down and is Reader with the School of Arts, English and Languages, attached to the Seamus Heaney Centre, Queen’s University Belfast. She is one of Ireland’s leading poets and has published four poetry collections with Jonathan Cape: “These Days” (2004), “Drives” (2008) “Profit and Loss” (2011) and “The Radio” (2017). Most recently, she published a pamphlet, “Slim New Book”, with the Lifeboat Press (Belfast, 2020). She has also published a critical study of the poet Medbh McGuckian with Irish Academic Press (2014).

Malika Booker was born in London to Guyanese and Grenadian parents, and lived in Grenada until she was thirteen, when she returned to England. She studied anthropology at Goldsmiths, London and, in 2001, along with poet and performer Roger Robinson, founded Malika’s Poetry Kitchen. The collective “nurtures the writing, performance and careers of poets by emphasising craft, community and development.”

Alan Gillis was born in Belfast and is Lecturer in English at the University of Edinburgh. He has published four poetry collections with Gallery Press: “Somebody, Somewhere” (2004 winner of the Strong Award for the best first collection in Ireland), “Hawks and Doves (2007, shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize), “Here Comes the Night” (2010), and “Scapegoat” (2014). “The Readiness” was published by Picador in 2020.

Nell Regan was born in London in 1969 but grew up in Dublin, and works as a freelance educator and literary programmer. She attended University College Dublin, Lancaster University, Goldsmiths, and is a graduate of The Poets’ House, Donegal. In 2011, she participated in the International Writing Program Fall Residency at the University of Iowa and in 2012 she was a Fulbright Scholar at U C Berkeley. In 2016 Nell was awarded a Kavanagh Fellowship.

Philip Gross was born in Cornwall, the son of an Estonian wartime refugee, and he has lived in Plymouth, Bristol and South Wales, where he was Professor of Creative Writing at Glamorgan University. He has published numerous poetry collections, beginning with “The Wasting Game” (Bloodaxe, 1998), which was a Poetry Book Society Recommendation. Later collections. all with Bloodaxe, include: “Mappa Mundi” (2003 & PBS Recommendation), “The Egg of Zero” (2006 & shortlisted for the Roland Matias Prize), “The Water Table” (2009 & winner of the T S Eliot Prize), “Deep Field” (2010 & PBS Recommendation), “Love Songs of Carbon” (2016 & PBS Recommendation), “A Bright Acoustic” (2017), and “Between the Islands” (2020). He received a Cholmondeley Award in 2017.

Ruth Carr was born and lives in Belfast where she is a freelance editor and tutor. She has two collections with Summer Palace Press, “There is a House” (1999) and “The Airing Cupboard” (2008). “Feather and Bone” was published by Arlen House in 2018.

Mary O’Donnell lives near Straffan, County Kildare and worked intermittently in journalism, especially theatre criticism, and her essays on contemporary literary are widely published. She also presented and scripted three series of poetry programmes for RTE Radio, including a successful series on poetry in translation during 2005 and 2006 called ‘Crossing the Lines’. She teaches Creative Writing, part time, at NUI Maynooth and in 2011 she received that university’s President’s Alumni Award She has also worked on the faculty of Carlow University Pittsburgh’s MFA programme, as well as on the University of Iowa’s summer writing programme at Trinity College Dublin. In December 2001 she was elected to the membership of Aosdana. She is also a member of the Irish Writers’ Union and served for three years as an external representative for arts and culture on the Governing Authority of the National University of Ireland, Maynooth.

Billy Ramsell has two critically acclaimed collections with Dedalus Press, “Complicated Pleasures” (2007) and “The Architect’s Dream of Winter” (2013). He lives live in Cork where he co-runs an educational publishing company. He is the former editor of the Irish section of the Poetry International website and in 2013 he judged the Strong Shine award for best first collection by an Irish poet.

Eoghan was born in Derry and studied English and Philosophy at University College, Dublin before receiving both an MA and a PhD from the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry at Queen’s University, Belfast. He taught Creative Writing at Queen’s University Belfast, the Open University, and for the SUISS program at Edinburgh University, before being appointed Lecturer in Creative Writing at Lancaster University.

Órflhaith was born in Nigeria to Irish missionary parents, living there as well as in Kenya and Malawi. She later lived in Australia, France, Russia, Israel and the United Kingdom. Her home is now in Galway. Órflhaith was born in Nigeria to Irish missionary parents, living there as well as in Kenya and Malawi. She later lived in Australia, France, Russia, Israel and the United Kingdom. Her home is now in Galway. Her work has been published in The Dublin Review, The Wales Arts Review, The Manchester Review, and The Stinging Fly.

Pat Boran was born in Portlaoise and lives in Dublin. He is a former Programme Director of the Dublin Writers Festival, a former presenter of both The Enchanted Way and The Poetry Programme on RTÉ Radio 1, and continues to contribute to the Sunday Miscellany. He is also a former editor of Poetry Ireland Review. He is currently the editor of Dedalus Press (Dublin).

Siobhan Campbell lives in Belfast and was educated at University College Dublin and at Lancaster University. She pursued post-graduate study at NYU and the New School, New York, and worked as Managing Editor of Wolfhound Press. She joined the Open University after teaching at Kingston University London, where she was Associate Professor in English Literature and Creative Writing.

Paul Muldoon was born in 1951 in Portadown, Co. Armagh, and was raised near The Moy. He now divides his time between Ireland and his home in America. Paul attended Queen’s University Belfast, and John Hewitt, then poetry editor of “Threshold”, was the first to publish Paul’s poems. He has, of course, gone on to be recognised as one of the world’s leading poets and was described by TLS as “the most significant English-language poet born since the Second World War.”

Lorna Shaughnessy Reads for The John Hewitt Society. Lorna Shaughnessy was born in Belfast and lives in Co. Galway, where she is Lecturer in Hispanic Studies, NUI Galway. She has published three poetry collections, “Torching the Brown River” (Salmon, 2008), “Witness Trees” (Salmon, 2011) and “Anchored” (Salmon, 2015), and a chapbook, “Song of the Forgotten Shulamite”, (Lapwing, 2005). “Lark Water” is forthcoming from Salmon Press.

Iggy McGovern Reads for The John Hewitt Society. Iggy McGovern was born in Coleraine and educated in Belfast. He holds degrees in physics from Queen’s University, Belfast, and was Professor of Physics in Trinity College, Dublin until retirement in 2013, where he is now Fellow Emeritus.

Kate Newmann Reads Poetry For The John Hewitt Society. Kate was born in Dromore, Co. Down and lives in Kilcar, Donegal. She co-founded Summer Palace Press in 1999. She holds an MA in English from King’s College, Cambridge and was a Junior Fellow at the Institute for Irish Studies, Queen’s University Belfast, during which time she edited and compiled The Dictionary of Ulster Biography (1993).

Paul Perry Reads Poetry for the John Hewitt Society. Paul was born in Dublin in 1972 and lived for several years in the United States, where he studied at Brown University. He is currently Associate Professor in Creative Writing at University College Dublin.

In this Poetry Clip Paul Batchelor reads for The John Hewitt Society. Paul is a freelance writer and teacher, and regularly reviews for the Guardian, The Times and the Times Literary Supplement. He is Director of Creative Writing at Durham University.

This week’s poetry clip is from Maurice Riordan. Maurice was born in Co. Cork. He is published by Faber and in 2004 he was selected as one of the Poetry Society’s ‘Next Generation’ poets. His first collection, “A Word from the Loki” (1995), was nominated for the T. S. Eliot Prize, as was “The Water Stealer” (2013). “Floods” (2000) was a Book of the Year in the Sunday Times and Irish Times. “The Holy Land” (2007) won the Michael Hartnett Award and his new collection, “The Shoulder Tap”, is forthcoming in 2021. Maurice read at the 2008 John Hewitt International Summer School,

In 2103 Emma Must read with Michael Longley at a joint John Hewitt Society/Ulster Museum event. Born in England, Emma now lives in Belfast and holds a MA (Poetry) from the Seamus Heaney Centre, Queen’s University, where is she about to complete her PhD – the subject of which reflects her history of environmental activism.

Kathleen McCracken was born in Ontario and has lived in Northern Ireland since 1992. She is the author of seven collections of poetry and winner of the Seamus Heaney Award for New Writing.

Michael McKimm was born in Belfast and grew up near the Giant’s Causeway. A graduate of the Warwick Writing Programme, he won an Eric Gregory Award in 2007 and was an International Writing Fellow at the University of Iowa in 2010. He now lives in London where he works for the Geological Society Library.

Paul Maddern was born in Bermuda of Irish and Cornish stock. He received a BA(Hons) in Film from Queen’s University, Ontario, and then briefly joined the Colorado Ballet as an apprentice dancer. He worked in catering in San Francisco and London, moving to Northern Ireland in 2000. He returned to university in 2004, obtaining a Creative Writing MA (Poetry) from the Seamus Heaney Centre, QUB, and a PhD from the School of English.

Nuala Reilly (Ireland) read at the 2008 John Hewitt International Summer School in Armagh, in a showcase for the Irish language publisher, Coiscéim.   Nuala, who writes in Irish, is a native of Armagh and now lives in Derry City. She launched her first collection, “Magus Ballyrath” (Coiscéim) at the 2008 John Hewitt International Summer School in …

Noel Monahan (Ireland) read alongside Gail McConnell for an event organised by the John Hewitt Society and City Chapters (Armagh) to celebrate 2019 National Poetry Day. Noel was born in Granard, Co. Longford. He has won The SeaCat National Poetry Award, The RTE P.J. O’Connor Award for drama, The ASTI Achievements Award, The Hiberno-English Poetry Award …

Joan Newmann (Ireland) read at the 2008 John Hewitt International Summer School, alongside Imtiaz Dharker. Joan is from County Armagh and was a member of the famed Philip Hobsbaum Belfast Group that included James Simmons and Seamus Heaney.  “First Letter Home”, like Heaney’s “Eleven Poems”, was published in pamphlet form by Michael Emerson of Queen’s …

Ruth Padel (England) read at the 2014 John Hewitt International Summer School, alongside Tom Paulin. Ruth was born in London and studied Classics at Lady Margaret Hall Oxford where she wrote her PhD on Greek poetry. At Wadham, she was among the first women to become a Fellow of formerly all-male Oxford colleges. She taught …

Susannah Dickey (Ireland) first attended the John Hewitt International Summer School as a bursary recipient in 2017, when she was also part at the Lifeboat Press Reading, alongside Seán Hewitt and Andy Eaton. She read at the Hewitt’s 2019 Hillsborough Festival of Literature and Ideas, alongside Joe Lines and Anna Loughran, again as part of a …

David Wheatley (Ireland / Scotland) read at the 2018 John Hewitt International Summer School, alongside Ailbhe Darcy.  David was born in Dublin where he studied at Trinity College and edited the student poetry journal “Icarus.” With Justin Quinn he also edited the highly influential poetry journey, “Metre”.  Previously at the University of Hull, he is currently Reader …

Matt Kirkham (England/Ireland) read for the Hewitt at the National Poetry Day Reading in Armagh (2013), alongside Paula Cunningham   Born in Luton, Matt moved to Ireland some time ago and is currently the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator at a school on the Ards Peninsula (Co. Down). He read Mathematics at Cambridge and that field of study …

Ian Duhig (Ireland/England) is a former Committee Member of the John Hewitt Society and last took part in the 2018 John Hewitt International Summer School, along with Professor Pól Ó Dochartaigh, discussing “Writing & Refugees”.  Ian is closely associated with the city of Leeds, where for 15 years he worked with the homeless. Known primarily as a …

Mary Jean Chan (Hong Kong / England) read for the 2019 John Hewitt International Summer School, alongside Fiona Benson. Mary Jean is the author of Flèche, published by Faber & Faber. Flèche won the 2019 Costa Book Award for Poetry and was shortlisted for the International Dylan Thomas Prize and the Seamus Heaney Centre First Collection Poetry Prize. …

Andrew McMillan (England) read for the 2016 John Hewitt International Summer School alongside Caitriona O’Reilly. Andrew McMillan’s debut collection “physical” (Jonathan Cape, 2015) was the first poetry collection to win The Guardian First Book Award. And it also won the Fenton Aldeburgh First Collection Prize, a Somerset Maugham Award (2016), and an Eric Gregory Award (2016). It …

Professor Ciaran Carson (Ireland)9 October 1948 – 6 October 2019 On April 18th, 2007, at a Lannan Foundation event to celebrate Northern Irish poetry, Ciaran Carson read alongside Paul Muldoon and Michael Longley in the impressive surrounds of the National Geographic Centre in Washington DC. Seamus Heaney had sent a recorded contribution because his recent …

Damian Smyth (Ireland) was previously a Committee Member of the John Hewitt Society and last read for the Society at the 2019 John Hewitt Birthday Reading, alongside Moyra Donaldson and Maureen Boyle.  Damian is currently Head of Literature and Drama for the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and is respected across Ireland for his sustained …

Gail McConnell (Ireland) read alongside Noel Monaghan for an event organised by the John Hewitt Society and City Chapters (Armagh) to celebrate 2019 National Poetry Day. Gail lives in Belfast and is a Senior Lecturer in English at Queen’s University Belfast where she is also the convenor of the MA in Poetry: Creativity and Criticism …

Sarah Clancy (Ireland), read the 2019 John Hewitt Society International Summer School in Armagh, alongside Kerry Hardie.  Sarah Clancy lives in Galway with her partner Anne. She has been placed or shortlisted in several of Ireland’s most prestigious written poetry competitions including The Ballymaloe International Poetry Prize, The Patrick Kavanagh Award and The Listowel Collection of …

Kerry Hardie (Ireland) read the 2019 John Hewitt Society International Summer School in Armagh, alongside Sarah Clancy. Previously, she read with Dennis O’Driscoll and Frank Ormsby for the 2011 John Hewitt Birthday Reading, and with Glenn Patterson for a John Hewitt Society event at the 2011 Banbridge Arts Festival.  Kerry is a poet and novelist. …

Tamar Yoseloff reads poetry for The John Hewitt Society. Tamar was born in the US and attended Sarah Lawrence College. She moved to the UK in 1987 and received an MPhil in Writing from the University of Glamorgan in 2003 and a PhD in Creative Writing from Aberystwyth University in 2010.

Katie Donovan (Ireland) read for the 2017 John Hewitt International Summer School, alongside Denise Riley.   Katie attended Trinity College Dublin and the University of California at Berkeley. In Dublin she worked for “The Irish Times” for 13 years as a journalist in the Features Dept. She was Writer-in-Residence for Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown 2006-8 and was …

Rita Ann Higgins (Ireland) read at the 2016 John Hewitt International Summer School, alongside Grace Wells.  Rita Ann Higgins was born in Galway. Her first five collections were published by Salmon Press: Goddess on the Mervue Bus (1986), Witch in the Bushes (1988), Goddess and Witch (1990), Philomena’s Revenge (1992), and Higher Purchase (1996). Bloodaxe …

Moyra Donaldson (Ireland) read for the 2009 John Hewitt International Summer School as part of a Lagan Press Showcase, alongside Maria McManus and Myra Vennard. In 2012, Moyra took part in a reading to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Hewitt’s death, along with Sinéad Morrisey, Damian Smyth & Frank Ormsby. At the 2015 Summer School, …

Jane Yeh (USA/UK) read for the 2016 John Hewitt International Summer School, alongside Matthew Francis.  Jane Yeh was born in New Jersey and has lived in London since 2002. She holds degrees in English and Creative Writing from Harvard, Iowa, Manchester Metropolitan, and Royal Holloway.. Her first collection, Marabou (Carcanet, 2005), was shortlisted for the Whitbread, Forward, …

Miriam Gamble (Ireland/Scotland) read at the 2008 John Hewitt Spring Festival in Carnlough (with Maureen Boyle, Kevin Higgins, Paul Maddern & Iggy McGovern,), at the 2008 John Hewitt Birthday Reading (with Gerry Dawe and Sinéad Morrissey), and at the 2014 John Hewitt international Summer School (with Paul Batchelor).  Miriam was born in Brussels and raised …

Matt Bryden (England) read at the 2014 John Hewitt International Summer School, alongside Vona Groarke. Born and raised in Beckenham, Matt Bryden is an EFL teacher whose work has taken him to Tuscany, the Czech Republic and Poland. He has an MA in Creative and Life Writing from Goldsmiths College and his pamphlet, Night Porter, was …

Gerry Dawe (Ireland) read for the 2008 John Hewitt Birthday Reading alongside Sinéad Morrissey and Miriam Gamble, and he delivered the John Hewitt Lecture for the 2016 John Hewitt International Summer School. Most recently, along with Cahal Dallat and Heather Richardson, Gerry took part in a discussion on Hewitt for the 2020 Digital Festival of …

Frances Leviston (Scotland/England) read for the 2014 John Hewitt International Summer School in Armagh, alongside W. N. Herbert.  Frances was born in Edinburgh, grew up in Sheffield, and read English at St Hilda’s College, Oxford. In 2006 she received an Eric Gregory Award and her critically acclaimed first collection, Public Dreams (Picador, 2007) was shortlisted …

Sasha Dugdale (England)read for the 2017 John Hewitt Birthday Reading, alongside Stephen Sexton and Vona Groarke. Sasha is author of five poetry collections: Deformations (2020), Joy (2017), winner of the 2017 Poetry Book Society Winter Choice Award, Red House (2011), The Estate (2007), and Notebook (2003). Sasha won an Eric Gregory Award in 2003, a Cholmondeley Award in 2017, and in 2016 her poem, …