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American poet to become first Seamus Heaney international visiting poetry fellow at QUB

American poet Mark Doty has been chosen for the prestigious post
American poet Mark Doty has been chosen for the prestigious post American poet Mark Doty has been chosen for the prestigious post

AN American poet best known for his powerful work on the Aids epidemic is to become the first Seamus Heaney international visiting poetry fellow at Queen’s University Belfast.

Mark Doty will formally take up the post in Autumn 2018 when he will be based for four weeks at the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry at QUB.

During his time, he will engage in outreach activities at the new Seamus Heaney Homeplace in Bellaghy, offering workshops and readings for groups visiting the new facility.

The fellowship is created as part of a joint 10-year Seamus Heaney Legacy project by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and QUB.

Mr Doty’s nine books of poems include My Alexandria, which won the US National Book Critics Circle Award and became the first book by an American poet to win the TS Eliot Prize in the UK in 1995.

Nóirín McKinney from the Arts Council said: "We are honoured to host him and we anticipate this appointment will benefit not only local writers and the academic community but the wider public, through workshops, readings and lectures".