Poems of Mayo
Belfast poet Michael Longley talks with Olivia O'Leary about his nature poems, inspired by a remote area in Mayo in the west of Ireland that he has been visiting for decades.
Michael Longley is Northern Ireland's most eminent contemporary poet, described by Seamus Heaney as 'a keeper of the artistic estate, a custodian of griefs and wonders.' He has devoted a lifetime to the art of poetry and has won numerous poetry prizes.
His refuge from the city streets of Belfast is in County Mayo, in one of the most remote and beautiful parts of the west of Ireland. He has been writing about its nature and landscape for over 50 years and it has provided endless inspiration for poems. In more recent years he has recognised the threat of climate change and he expresses the hope that younger generations will take greater care of the world.
He reads his poems The Leveret, Remembering Carrigskeewaun, Stonechat and The Comber from his collection Ash Keys: New Selected Poems (Cape Poetry), published to mark his 85th birthday on 27th July 2024, and Merlin from his collection The Slain Birds.
Presenter: Olivia O'Leary
Producer: Claire Cunningham
Executive Producer: Regan Hutchins
Michael Longley's Life of Poetry is a Rockfinch production for ±«Óãtv Radio 3.
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Broadcast
- Thu 11 Jul 2024 21:45±«Óãtv Radio 3
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