Poetry Ireland has today, 17th August 2021, announced the names of the Poet Laureates selected as part of the Poetry Town initiative, which will see more than a hundred poetry-related activities take place in 20 towns across Ireland between 10th and 18th September 2021.
In conjunction with Waterford City and County Council Arts Office, Áine Uí Fhoghlú has been appointed as the Poet Laureate for one of the selected Poetry Towns, Dungarvan in Co. Waterford. Áine will write a poem honouring and reflecting on Dungarvan and its people.
A writer of poetry and fiction, Áine Uí Fhoghlú comes from the Waterford Gaeltacht area, An Rinn. Her published works include poetry: Aistear Aonair (1999); An Liú sa Chuan (2007); Ar an Imeall (2011); adult fiction: Crúba na Cinniúna (2009); Uisce faoi Thalamh (2011); Éalú (2013); non-fiction: Scéalta agus Seanchas – Potatoes, Children & Seaweed (2019) – a bilingual memoir recorded from the older generation in her area; and teenage fiction: Pincí sa Ghaeltacht (2012); com (2017). Her latest teenage fiction is due for publication in 2021. She has won several awards including, the Michael Hartnett Poetry Award, Oireachtas naGaeilge Literary awards, Strokestown Duais na Gaeilge award, Listowel Writers’ Week. Áine Uí Fhoghlú commented: “Poetry is for everyone, let’s make sure everyone knows it!”
As part of the week-long Poetry Town celebrations next month, each Poet Laureate will reveal and present their poem to the people of their Poetry Town at a series of flagship online events, one of which will be hosted in each town. Each event will also feature contributions from other local poets, artists and musicians.
Further activities will include a series of poetry events involving local poets; poetry workshops; public poetry displays, including ‘Poetry Underfoot’; and a range of physical activities called ‘Poems that Move You’, which will vary from town to town. Local businesses, including cafés and chemists, will also be participating in the activities to celebrate their towns by distributing ‘pocket poems’ to customers. The full programme of activities for each town will be made available on the Poetry Town website during the last week of August.
Commenting, Director of Poetry Ireland, Niamh O’Donnell said: “The aim of Poetry Town is to celebrate the vitality and strength of our towns and communities, and to shine a light on the wealth of creativity and talent that can be found in them.”
Poetry Ireland connects poetry and people, and is committed to achieving excellence in the reading, writing and performance of poetry throughout the island of Ireland. It works to make poetry more accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds across the island of Ireland, through live events, education and publications.
For further information, visit the Poetry Town website: poetrytown.ie or Contact: Sebastian Enke, Enkom PR, Tel: 087-3239496, Email: sebastian@enkom.ie Lisa Jewell, Communications Manager, Poetry Ireland, Tel: 087-9927546, Email: comms@poetryireland.ie