The John Hewitt Society Birthday Readings

Three critically acclaimed Irish poets  will read from recent work to mark the birth date of the celebrated Belfast-born poet, John Hewitt, in the pub named after him.

Deirdre Cartmill’s third poetry collection, The Wind Stills to Listen, was published by Arlen House in 2023. She is a former Artist-in-Residence at the Belfast International Arts Festival and was Belfast Cathedral’s Heritage Writer-in-Residence 2022-23.

Maria McManus’ poetry collections are Available Light, (Arlen House), We Are Bone, The Cello Suites and Reading the Dog (Lagan Press).  Ellipses, a limited-edition hand-made pamphlet, was published in 2021. Her work has been broadcast on RTE and BBC World Service.

Grace Wells is an award-winning eco-poet and environmental writer. Her three poetry collections have all been published by Dedalus Press, most recently The Church of the Love of the World which was shortlisted for the Farmgate National Poetry Award. She was a winner of the Eilís Dillon award and the Rupert and Eithne Strong Debut collection award.