Poet Owen Neill [Canada]:
“In Ireland, if you’re a poet, you’re apt to be rushed!”
Ireland has been kind to Neill in ways Canada has not, having invited the poet over several times to participate in cultural events, according a respect for poetic wordsmiths largely absent in North America. One particular honour is close to the poet’s heart:
“They’ve put up a Poet’s Chair on Rathlin Island off the northeast coast of Ireland near Ballycastle, where my dad was from,” Neill explains. “They hold a festival of readings there every year, and mine was one of the first 5 names on the plaque attached to it.”
He is in good company: famed poet Seamus Heaney and novelist Colin Bateman have their names affixed as well, as having helped launch the Chair.
No comment
» Post a Comment