Community Arts Partnership launches the inaugural “Seamus Heaney Award for New Writing” as part of the Poetry in Motion Community’s ‘Making Memories’ project Community Arts Partnership launched this year’s Poetry in Motion Community Project entitled ‘Making Memories’ which incorporates the inaugural “Seamus Heaney Award for New Writing,” at the Linen Hall Library today, Monday 13th October. Just before Christmas in 1961, on visiting the Linen Hall library, Seamus Heaney discovered for the first time “a local literary tradition ……in this part of the world.” The late Nobel Laureate commented that the library provided not only a rich resource but a sense of the importance of writers and poets such as John Hewitt, Sam Hanna Bell, Joe Tomelty and Roy McFadden, and that the library was central to the development of a community of writers in the forties and indeed, the sixties. Building on both that legacy held by the Linen Hall library and Seamus Heaney’s immense contribution to our literary and creative horizons, Community Arts Partnership is showcasing an exciting new aspect to their programme, actively supported by The Arts Council of Northern Ireland and acknowledged by the Heaney family, which will recognise exceptional new local writing. Nurturing the emergence of new work, whilst drawing together a new community of writers, is central to the vision of this project, echoing our late Nobel Laureate’s recognition of this role. Thanks to the principal funder the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, along with support from Belfast City Council, this project opens pathways for local writers and poets to maintain and expand the tradition to which Heaney was introduced in the Linen Hall library. seamus heaney award photo 1 Conor Shields, Community Arts Partnership’s chief executive, said: “Since 2000, we have been supporting new and emerging poets through the Poetry in Motion project but this is the very first year that we will be offering the Seamus Heaney Award for New Writing. In association with the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, we are offering this award as recognition of Seamus Heaney’s unparalleled legacy and its inspiration for us as a society and as a creative community. The Seamus Heaney Award for New Writing will shine a light on the profundity of poetic talent in Northern Ireland. Our late Nobel Laureate had supported our anthology ‘You Can’t Eat Flags for Breakfast’ and we are deeply honoured to see that connection continue through this award.” Chelley McLear, the project Co-ordinator for the Poetry in Motion Community Project said: “This award is an exciting opportunity for new and emerging writers across the region. The project continually offers guidance to beginners in making those first steps towards a well-honed poem and the tools to craft for those more experienced in the art. This year we are delighted to be able to offer recognition to new writing and to encourage our local poets to push themselves further in their quest for literary craftsmanship. The award will be made for a piece of new writing selected for inclusion in the 2015 anthology, ‘Making Memories’. Full submissions guidelines and details of workshops are available on our website at comartspartner.org.” Damian Smyth, Head of Literature and Drama, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, commented: “The Arts Council was delighted that CAP and Poetry in Motion were considering their options in marking the legacy of the great poet. The resulting award is in tune both with the artistic genius of the poet and the generous spirit of the man and we know the initiative will be a popular and accessible contribution to the enduring impact of Heaney’s work in Northern Ireland.”
Posted on: Tue, 14 Oct 2014 12:06:05 +0000
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