iYeats Poetry Competition

I'm not sure how this happened but one of my entries has been added to the iYeats Highly Commended list. Originally it wasn't there but I got an email saying that the judges were impressed with one of my entries and inviting me to read it at the prize giving. I said great, to be noticed at all is welcome!

Then this week I got another email saying that the judges had decided to add the poem Townlands to the Highly Commended list. I'm delighted especially as sending that poem was based on the theme of the competition- A Sense of Place - and on reckoning that these two judges, Vincent Woods and Rita Ann Higgins (pictured) might just be the ones to recognise it as a slightly different take on the topic.

The poem is basically a list of townlands in Sligo associated with my mother. It's composed of lines such as She was born in x x x, She's buried in x x x. You could write your own poem on the same pattern!

It finishes with a few lines reflecting the narrow range of travel of most of her generation and contrasts that with what is now available to my generation. A simple concept which relies on the lovely townland names for its effect.

I'm in good company in the list. Richard Halpern who appeared yesterday on the Welsh Poetry List is there as are Lizann Gorman and Mags Treanor who we have published in Boyne Berries, Shirley McClure who was a winner in the Kavanagh last year, Connie Roberts who got a Poetry Ireland Introductions slot this year and of course Jane Clarke who is the outright winner and also has a Highly Commended poem.

Looking forward to the event in The Hawk's Well Theatre, Sligo on Monday.