The John Hewitt Society.
Blackshaw, Basil; John Hewitt
The John Hewitt Society provides opportunities for individuals across Northern Ireland to explore issues of difference and identity through literature and creative writing. The Society was established in 1987 to promote Hewitt’s ethos of utilising literature and the arts as a medium for tackling prejudice, exclusive concepts of identity, and sectarian hostility.
For thirty-five years The John Hewitt Society has developed a range of literary and cultural activities to break down parochialism, narrow, exclusive concepts of identity, and hostility towards the ‘other’. The Society seeks to offer even more opportunities to engage readers, support writers, and inspire the next generation with great literature. The effectiveness of our activities has been recognised by our funders and supporters, including the Community Relations Council and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.
Website: https://johnhewittsociety.org/
Poetry Walk
Location: The Waterworks Park
This new poetry walk is a collaboration between The John Hewitt Society and Irish Artist Richard Carr. It is located in the iconic Waterworks Park in North Belfast.
Geolocated around Swan Lake it presents a layered binaural field recording of the natural sounds found in the park with two poetry readings by Dr. Frank Ferguson of The John Hewitt Society. The first of these poems “A Local Poet” is found at the lower benches on the Queen Mary’s entrance side to the park and the second “Balloons and Wooden Guns” is located at the Armchairs sculpture at the far end of Swan Lake.