HARRY CLIFTON IS ANNNOUNCED AS IRELAND PROFESSOR OF POETRY 2010 On Wednesday 30th June, An Taoiseach Brian Cowen, T.D. announced Harry Clifton as the Ireland Professor of Poetry 2010. In making the announcement An Taoiseach said: http://www.rte.ie/radio1/drivetime/ - timings : 1hr 50 mins. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00sx2t4/Arts_Extra_30_06_2010/ - timings: 1 min 23 secs. http://www.rte.ie/player/#v=1075917 - timings: 22 mins 17 secs. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0701/1224273707910.html THE IRELAND CHAIR OF POETRY TRUST The Ireland Chair of Poetry Trust was set up in 1998 and is jointly held between Queen's University Belfast, Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and the Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon. Every three years a poet of honour and distinction is chosen to represent the Chair as Ireland's Professor of Poetry. During their tenure the holder spends a year attached to each of the three universities and resides for a period of approximately eight weeks at each. While in residence, the poet gives informal workshops or readings, spends time working with students and performing outreach work and makes one formal presentation a year, usually in the form of a lecture. PREVIOUS PROFESSORS 1998 - 2007 In 1998 John Montague was chosen as the first Professor of Poetry. His successor, Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, held the post from 2001 to 2004, and Paul Durcan was elected the third holder of the Chair from 2004 to 2007. MICHAEL LONGLEY 2007 - 2010 The current incumbent of the Chair, Michael Longley, began his post in September 2007 and spent his first year as Professor of Poetry with Queen's University Belfast, where he resided for two four week periods. He performed his first lecture entitled "A Jovial Hullabaloo" to rapturous applause in the Great Hall of Queen's University Belfast and later repeated this in Trinity College Dublin in 2008. Professor Longley's second year was spent with Trinity College Dublin and his second lecture, "One Wide Expanse: A Return to the Classics", was performed in the Ernest Walton Theatre to a full house in January 2009. He then went on to repeat this lecture in Queen's University Belfast the following March. During his time as Chair, Michael Longley has given a number of public readings, masterclassses, tutorials, seminars and broadcasts for BBC and RTE. He has worked closely with students on both sides of the border and with the Oscar Wilde Centre for Irish Writing and Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry. Michael Longley is currently spending his third and final year with University College Dublin. He performed his annual lecture entitled "The West" in the John Hume Institute for Global Irish Studies on 1st February 2010 and repeated this on 25th March 2010 at 8pm in the Great Hall, Queen's University, Belfast. Michael Longley also gave a reading in Trinity College Dublin on 10th March 2010 at 7.30pm. OUTREACH WORK The Professor of Poetry carries out a number of outreach activities each year which include speaking and reading at schools, libraries, festivals, museums, galleries and conferences. If you would like to know more about the Outreach Programme, please contact info@irelandchairofpoetry.org BURSARY AWARD Each year Ireland's Professor of Poetry nominates a 'poet of promise' for a bursary award which enables the recipient to spend time working on their arts practice, away from domestic duties or disturbances. The nomination is confirmed by the trustees of the board of the Ireland Chair of Poetry and the recipient is entitled to spend four weeks at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre in Annaghmakerrig, Co Monaghan. Miriam Gamble is the Bursary recipient for 2010. Previous winners of the award include Leanne O' Sullivan, Leontia Flynn, Maureen Boyle, Nick Laird, Iggy McGovern and Alice Lyons. MANY MANSIONS The Ireland Chair of Poetry announced the publication of a limited edition hand printed book, MANY MANSIONS, in November 2009. This book features twelve new, unpublished poems - two each by JOHN MONTAGUE, NUALA NÍ DHOMHNAILL, PAUL DURCAN, MICHAEL LONGLEY, CIARAN CARSON and SEAMUS HEANEY. Seamus Heaney has also written a foreword to the volume. MANY MANSIONS was designed and published by Stoney Road Press for the Ireland Chair of Poetry. The text is composed in 12.5 point Book Antiqua and printed by hand at the National Print Museum, Dublin. The paper is 250gsm BFK Rives Blanc paper and the inside papers are Somerset velvet black. It is quarter-bound in mid-blue goatskin leather and beige bookcloth with matching slipcase by Antiquarian Bookcrafts, Dublin. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/features/2009/1109/1224258390883.html This special edition is limited to one hundred and twenty five copies and each numbered copy is signed by all the contributors. All copies of the publication, Many Mansions, have been sold. THE POET'S CHAIR 'The Poet's Chair' celebrates the first nine years of the Ireland Chair of Poetry and brings together public lectures given by John Montague, Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill and Paul Durcan with a foreword by Seamus Heaney. You can purchase 'The Poet's Chair' in most bookshops or alternatively you can contact the Ireland Chair of Poetry Trust Administrator for a copy.
"My warmest congratulations to Harry Clifton on receiving this very well deserved honour as Ireland's next Professor of Poetry. He is a most worthy champion of our country’s long poetic tradition and I would like to wish him every success during his tenure." An Taoiseach Brian Cowen, T.D.
Born in Dublin in 1952 and educated at University College Dublin, Harry Clifton left Ireland in the 70’s to lecture at a teacher training college in post Civil War Nigeria, and later worked in the Far East administering aid programmes for Indo-Chinese refugees in Thailand. He returned to Ireland in 1982.
In 1987 he married the Irish novelist Deirdre Madden and moved to Italy, a time documented in his prose memoir ‘On the Spine of Italy’. Subsequently they lived in Switzerland, England and Germany, before settling in Paris for ten years. In 2004, he returned to Ireland, and has been teaching at University College Dublin until last year.
His collections of poems include ‘The Desert Route; Selected Poems 1973-1988’ and ‘Secular Eden; Paris Notebooks 1994-2004’. His work, which has won numerous awards and distinctions, has been translated into several European languages. He believes the true home of the poet is ‘not in a place, but in the language itself.’
‘A huge honour, and totally unexpected. And to succeed Michael Longley, one of the most admired poets in the language itself, let alone the country, is especially wonderful.’ Harry Clifton commented.
Speaking on the appointment Pat Moylan, Chairman of the Arts Council said: “I am absolutely thrilled that Harry Clifton will be the fifth Ireland Professor of Poetry. A gifted and internationally respected poet, Clifton is a writer deeply committed to the art of poetry and this honour is richly deserved.
The Ireland Chair of Poetry has gained momentum and profile in recent years, attracting significant audiences and developing increased enthusiasm for poetry among students and the general public. Literature plays a vital and unique role in enhancing the quality of our cultural life; it enables us to examine ourselves as a society, to interrogate what it means to be human and, perhaps most importantly, it can give us much needed beauty, comfort and pleasure.
We are deeply grateful to the four previous post-holders for their tireless work and advocacy for poetry.”
Rosemary Kelly OBE, Chairman of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, commented: “As the fifth Professor of Poetry, Harry Clifton will follow in the footsteps of some of Ireland’s greatest contemporary writers. Clifton is indeed a worthy recipient of an award which marks the significant contribution of poetry to Ireland’s rich literary heritage. Over the course of the next three years students across the island will have the opportunity to learn from Clifton about his work, providing help and inspiration to our next generation of Irish writers.”
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