It was with great sadness we learned of the death of Michael Longley on 22nd January at the age of 85.
Michael was a hugely reassuring presence in the poetry community, a prolific poet who acknowledged his own struggles with the muse, a classicist with a profound feeling for nature, love poet, war poet, a writer who reached through politics to find the humanity beyond. And humanity was the touchstone of his work and his life.
A key figure in that remarkable cohort of Northern Irish poets which included Seamus Heaney and Derek Mahon and influenced a wider community of outstanding poets from that country, including Paul Muldoon and Sinead Morrissey – both of whom have appeared in the festival’s programme – Michael achieved a loyal and widespread following among poets and poetry lovers.
When Robert Hutchison, Keiren Phelan and I were plotting the first Winchester Poetry Festival we were keen to make a splash and to set a standard, so securing a big name was an early goal. It was our good fortune that Robert had formed an enduring friendship with Michael when the two met at Trinity College Dublin in the 1960s. An approach to Michael seemed a sound and exciting proposition.
To our delight – and great relief – he accepted our invitation and not only agreed to give a headline reading but willingly took part in a moving WPF event at Winchester College cloister to
commemorate the First World War – a subject of particular significance to Michael, whose father had served in the trenches. He also undertook the first WPF commission producing the poignant ‘The Snowdrops’ which appeared in the festival brochure (see below) and was later published in his 2017 collection Angel Hill.
We were doubly fortunate in reeling in Michael as we also netted his wife Edna Longley, the noted writer and critic, who gave an outstanding lecture on Edward Thomas, a poet much admired by both of them. Following the 2014 festival both Michael and Edna agreed to become patrons of the festival.
Disarmingly modest and unfailingly generous, Michael was intrigued by the mystery of poetry and was a wonderful speaker and writer on the craft of poetry, every word luminous and delivered with a sense of wonder, and often with a characteristic twinkle in his eye. For many years he worked at the Arts Council of Northern Ireland (in the room that had once inspired Louis Macneice’s ‘Snow’), and he retained a warm and supportive attitude towards creative artists of all kinds. WPF was among many poetry organisations to have benefited from his kindness and wisdom.
Michael’s engagement with WPF was a particular pleasure to me, having attended an inspirational poetry course he led with Gillian Clarke at Ty Newydd (the Welsh writing centre) in 2001, in which he tenderly nudged our modest efforts in a more fruitful direction. In the middle of a busily creative week Michael announced he had been summoned to Dublin to receive the Irish Times Literature Prize for Poetry for his collection The Weather in Japan. He made the trip in a 24-hour dash so he could be sure to return to Wales to complete his one-to-ones and share in our end of course celebrations. Garlanded with all kinds of awards, Michael was widely loved and admired throughout the poetry world. He leaves an exceptional body of work including recordings of interviews and readings given in his incomparably gentle and expressive voice.
We will miss him.
Stephen Boyce
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