Of course I was really happy to be longlisted, but for me the book is the main thing. To be between covers with all the other poets is an absolute joy. I love anthologies and especially ones with a theme. I think of the book as the Seamus Heaney Annual and am always excited to know what the next theme word will be and start thinking about ways it could be possibly be interpretated
And it’s a time to meet-up if you can get to Bellaghy which is such a significant place, but isn’t great for Public Transport and isn’t always easy to get to. I miss the days, pre-Covid, when a bus full of poets from Belfast trundled up around Lough Neagh and through the sodden and swan-filled fields of the North Country.
Even more I miss the unsupervised and hilarious atmosphere on the way back as the sanity of the judges and the eligibility of the winners would be dissected forensically and generally found to be doubtful Obviously I’d have changed my tune now I’ve been listed and now I find the judges to be both wise and perceptive.
Anita Greg
