Poetry can be a work in progress
SLIGO poet Trevor Conway believes there’s no harm in admitting you haven’t written the perfect poem first time around.
“You always know when a poem has weak points,” he says. “It might take a while to admit it to yourself, as it’s the easy option to say it doesn’t need more work, but you have to give in and admit it to yourself eventually. Sometimes, it takes someone else to help you realise that.”
One person who helped steer Trevor towards such realisation was the late Sligo- based writer Dermot Healy, with whom he took classes in Ballyconnell. “We lost one of the greats,” he says wistfully. “Dermot’s work will grow in stature over time.”
Trevor says that budding poets often need to be more open- minded about the kinds of themes that can be explored in a poem.
“It’s wrong to say that some- thing in particular isn’t poetic enough for poetry. It’s up to the poet to write skilfully enough to make it work, whatever the theme is. No- one can take that away from a poet.”
Trevor is known for his own quirky takes on poetry, especially poems based on gaelic football and soccer. One piece from his first book,
Evidence of Freewheeling ( Salmon Poetry, 2015), describes Irish goalkeeper Packie Bonner’s penalty save against Romania in the 1990 World Cup. He also has a poem about the pitch where he played Gaelic football for Calry St. Joseph’s.
He first became interested in poetry as a student in Summerhill College.
Now living in Galway, he fondly recalls English Leaving Cert classes given by teacher John McLoughlin, where poets such as Yeats, Kavanagh and TS Eliot “came alive on the page.”
Now, he is giving local Sligo writers a chance to analyse and improve their own poems by hosting his own classes in his native town.
Every participant will have a poem workshopped by Trevor and the other participants.
He also focuses on specific aspects of poetry.
He refers to “lazy verbs”, “clunky clichés” and “flat rhythm” as particularly common elements that need improvement.
In addition, he gives participants short exercises and helpful tips on how to hone their craft.
Sligo has always provided inspiration for Trevor. He aims to give some of that inspiration back to the people of Sligo.
His next class will take place in Sligo from 3 to 6 pm on Saturday 1st April. ( Email trevorcon@ gmail. com or phone 087 7520363 for more details.