Cork City Libraries Announce First Eco Poet-In-Residence

11 October 2022

Cork City Libraries first Eco Poet-in-Residence will engage communities interested in the ecology of the city - the flora, fauna, and human ecology.

Cork City Libraries are delighted to announce the appointment of award winning poet, Keith Payne as the Eco Poet-in-Residence for Cork City. Keith will engage communities on the ecology of the city through poetry and creative thinking. This appointment is funded by Creative Ireland and will run until Spring 2023. 

Keith Payne will be running translation workshops, which will bring languages, and their speakers, ever closer to us; a Wanderlust book club on the literature of walking: from Bashō to Frank O’Hara, Laurie Lee to Tommy Pico, and our own adopted Corkman, Martín Veiga of Crosses Green. There will mentorships for poets working toward their first collection, a series of workshops on the Body and the Poem with dancer and adopted Corkonian Inma Pavon, as well as readings, talks and guest writers.

All events and workshops are open to the public, are free of charge, and no previous experience is necessary. The Eco Poet Residency particularly encourages participants from under-represented groups, people with disabilities, and people for whom English is not their first language to participate. 

Patricia Looney of Cork City Libraries welcomed the announcement saying, ‘Cork City Libraries contribute significantly to the artistic and creative life of the city and we are delighted to continue our support of the arts making creativity and writing accessible to all. We are extremely thankful to Creative Ireland for enabling this appointment which is the first Poet-in-Residence for Cork City Council’s Libraries. Keith will engage communities and all ages on the ecology and sustainability of the city through writing and creative thinking, while also encouraging dialogue on ecology and action.’ 

Keith Payne, Eco Poet-In-Residence for Cork City Libraries said: ‘Cork city has the capability of providing something for everybody, and I hope there will be something for everybody during the CORK ECO CITY residency. This is your city and will be my city for the duration of the residency, and beyond, I hope. I am interested in the ecology of the city; how we move about the place, roving the streets, turning corners to what we find living there. From Crosses Green to Tramore Valley Park, from Blackpool on to the roar of ‘a truck heading for Mallow’. I want to hear what you have to say about your city, and how you say it; about what grows under your feet, what flies over your head, the sounds in your ears – yes, those bells! – but also the Irish, English, Spanish and French you hear; the Ndebele, Kekewa, Igbo and Bangla. The accents from across the city and the globe that keep Finnegan awake and alive to the bubbling sound of things being various. So much to celebrate in Cork.’

The residency creatively supports Cork City Council’s high-level goals of an environmentally sustainable city by proactively engaging and empowering the people of Cork to help make the city climate resilient through creativity as well as a city promoting culture, heritage, learning, health, and wellbeing. Keith Payne will engage communities in healthy living options and build a sense of belonging with our increasingly diverse community.  

For more details, please see Cork City Libraries Facebook and Twitter or contact Keith directly on: keith.payne@mac.com