DISTINGUISHED Enniskillen-born poet and critic Kevin Quinn is not known for self-focused or confessional style writing. His upcoming talk at the Belfast book festival, A Poetry tour of Ireland, perfectly exemplifies his outward-looking approach to poetry.
Quinn has read what he describes as “an obscene amount of poetry” during his lifetime, and has been writing poems for around 30 years but says he only began to refine his talent around 10 years later.
“I think it is characteristic of a lot of poets that they discover how to finish poems, at the same time as they discover their real subject matter,” he said. “Any social or intellectual maturing feeds into your poems. I’m quite glad that people didn’t see some of my earlier efforts,” he laughs.
Reflecting on his time at University College Dublin where he studied English and German, he says: “When I was studying English there was no sense that you, or anyone else in that lecture theatre would become a poet. You were there to study the great and the good, which has completely changed now in creative writings courses.”
Although studying at UCD did not assure a career in poetry, Quinn, who now lives in Belfast, is thankful for his time there.
“The degree gave me a great sense of continuity of the subject, and gave me an understanding of the various writers. Some of my favourite poets are ones that I got to know at UCD,” he says.
Quinn presents the poetry of others at celebratory talks throughout Ireland, as well as having had poetry widely published in journals including The Yellow Nib, Poetry Ireland Review, and Fortnight.
“I’m not conscious of being directly influenced by any one poet,” he states. “That said, my favourite poets are some of those that I do talk on, such as Seamus Heaney and Paul Muldoon. I suppose inevitably I was influenced by the great surge of Ulster poetry during the 1960s and 1970s.”
Though his work regularly focuses on the experiences of his family and community, he muses: “You might say that in literature there are two poles – the classical style, and the romantic, or confessional-style poetry. It’s been an instinctual thing that I have veered towards the classical style. I suppose in the end it comes down to the view that you, yourself aren’t that significant in the greater scheme of things.”
The talks he presents are a celebration of poetry. His event at the festival is a presentation of over 20 poems about different places around Ireland.
“The aim of the talk is to demonstrate the variety and richness of the Irish poetry tradition,” he says.
Looking forward to festival, Quinn enthuses: “I very much enjoy the Belfast book festival. Literary festivals are probably the fastest growing kind of festival in the UK. It’s good sign that the book isn’t dead, despite the fact that people are very willing to write its obituary.”
:: A Poetry Tour of Ireland takes place in the Crescent Arts Centre on Monday. (belfastbookfestival.com)
