Liz Lochhead has an impressive reputation both as a poet and performer. Originally trained as an artist, she made the transition to full time writer in 1978 when she was selected to be the first holder of the Scottish/Canadian writers exchange fellowship. Human relationships, especially from a woman’s point of view are central to her poetry and are made immediate by her imagery, acute powers of observation and her flair as a storyteller.





Tickets £4 available from Festival Office
Tel: 028232403

Having held over sixty workshops across the city with various schools and community groups delivered by outstanding local writers: Poetry in Motion now offers a day long series of masterclasses are to be delivered by three internationally recognised poets from these islands. The masterclasses are to provide an insight into how these professional poets work and offer excellent models for any budding writer: the class will last approximately an hour and a quarter each.

May 12: 11am with Tom Paulin – A poet of ideas as complicated and conflicting as Northern Ireland itself, Tom Paulin is a well-known cultural critic, dramatist and poet from Belfast.

May 12: 2pm with Frank Ormsby – Frank Ormsby is a familiar Belfast-based poet with three collections of poetry. He is also a well-known editor, including the Honest Ulsterman, Poets from The North of Ireland, and, most recently, a book of short poems from Ireland entitled The Hip Flask.

May 12: 4pm with Liz Lochhead – Glasgow-based poet and playwright, Liz Lochhead is a writer of direct, often funny observations of life; she has the gift of the of the storyteller. She will lead a workshop entitled “Finding Your Voice”

Poetry in Motion project is one of five large scale community arts projects from the New Belfast Community Arts Initiative; the aim of the initiative is to promote dialogue and challenge notions of traditional divisions and rivalries. The project has been active since September in encouraging local people to pick up a pen to express their thoughts, emotions, and convictions on paper. A call for submission from local writers was held at the end of February with the challenge to write poetic reflections of Belfast throughout the last thirty-five years, as well as hopes for the furture. We received over 450 copies of poems submitted from the Greater Belfast Public, politicians, children as well as established poets.

Please book tickets for poetry masterclasses in advance
Tickets £4/£3 concessions available from Festival Office.
tel: 028 9023 2403 A ticket for all three workshops can purchased for £10