Why did you submit to this year’s anthology and the Seamus Heaney Award for New Writing?
I’ve been submitting to the Poetry in Motion anthologies since hearing about this CAP project over a decade ago. A successful submission to The Poet’s Place in 2012 encouraged me to try again the following year; when the same thing happened, I kept going. Now that it’s kind of an annual tradition it’s impossible not to enter! Entry to the Seamus Heaney Award process itself is automatic once accepted for the Poetry in Motion anthology. My first poem put forward, titled Visiting Sheelín, was longlisted in the inaugural award. Not having had a listing since, I was delighted to have been included in the final five poets this year.
What did you think of this year’s event?
It was a brilliant occasion! Until then, I’d only ‘met’ some of the people there via social media, so it was great to be able to chat in person before the ceremony in the Heaney Homeplace. After the readings, CAP Chief Executive Office Conor Shields interviewed the poets and it was enlightening to hear about the poetic journey of each. Being awarded runner up was simply the perfect end to a wonderful afternoon of poetry.
