Lismore’s Molly Twomey announced winner of the Eavan Boland Mentoring award
Lismore’s Molly Twomey has been announced as the winner of the Eavan Boland Mentoring award.
The current Waterford Poetry Prize winner has been selected to be mentored by Dorianne Laux, one of the U.S.’ most beloved poets, as the Eavan Boland Award winner.
Molly holds an MA in Creative Writing from UCC and has been published in journals such as Poetry Ireland, Crannóg, The Stinging Fly, Banshee and The Irish Times.
“I am really excited to work with Dorianne Laux and to give my writing the time and attention it deserves. I want to make my first collection the best it can possibly be and I have been nurtured by an incredible community of writers in Ireland and now it’s such a dream to feel that support from America too,” Molly told TheAvondhu.
In 2019, Molly won the Padraic Colum Poetry Prize, and in 2020 the Waterford Poetry Prize and has been selected for Words Ireland’s National Mentoring Programme 2020.
Molly was one of two poets from Cork, Ireland who participated in the 2020 annual international poetry exchange between Cork and Coventry (UK).
“Being mentored by such an established poet of the American tradition will certainly challenge and evolve my poetry. I’m hoping that it will strengthen my editing ability and broaden my mind-set about what I can achieve with my poetry.
“More than anything, I am honoured to receive this award in memory of Eavan Boland, whose work and dedication to poetry has encouraged and inspired so many Irish writers,” Molly added.
The Eavan Boland Mentoring Award was established by Jacar Press to honour one of Ireland’s greatest poets.
ESTABLISHED MENTOR
Dorianne Laux’s sixth collection of poetry, ‘Only As the Day is Long: New and Selected Poems’ was named a finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.
Her fifth collection, ‘The Book of Men’, was awarded The Paterson Prize, while her fourth book of poems, ‘ Facts About the Moon’, won The Oregon Book Award and was short-listed for the Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize.
Laux is also the author of ‘Awake; What We Carry’, a finalist for the National Book Critic’s Circle Award, ‘ Smoke’, as well as a fine small press edition, ‘The Book of Women’.
She is also the co-author of the celebrated text ‘The Poet’s Companion: A Guide to the Pleasures of Writing Poetry’.
The Waterford City and County Council Arts Office congratulate Molly on this wonderful achievement and wish her continued writing success.