The Belfast Group
Encyclopedia
The Belfast Group was a poets' workshop which was organized by Philip Hobsbaum
when he moved to Belfast
in October 1963
to lecture in English at Queen's University
.
As with Hobsbaum's earlier discussion group in London
, known as The Group
, the meetings commenced with the discussion of a single poet's work. After a break for coffee and biscuits, there was an open session in which participants could read any work they wished to. The group met once a week, initially on Tuesday evenings at 8:00pm, later on Monday evenings. During term time it met at No. 4 Fitzwilliam Street, Philip and Hannah Hobsbaum's home near the university.
Seamus Heaney
attended group meetings from the start. Seven of the poems in Heaney's Eleven Poems (November 1965
) were taken from his 'group sheets'. Heaney has said that the group "ratified the idea of writing". Michael Longley
started attending after his return to Belfast in 1964
. He has said that the group gave "an air of seriousness and electricity to the notion of writing", and that he was "surprised by the ferocity of Hobsbaum's attack". Other participants over the years included: James Simmons, Paul Muldoon
, Ciarán Carson
, Stewart Parker
, Bernard MacLaverty
, Frank Ormsby
and the critics Edna Longley
and Michael Allen. Louis Muinzer, the translator and theatre director was also a member of the group.
In 1965
and 1966
, the Belfast Festival at Queen's
published pamphlets by some of the members of the group, including Heaney, Longley, and this attracted a certain amount of publicity. After Hobsbaum's departure for Glasgow in 1966
, the Group lapsed for a while, but then was reconstituted in 1968
by Michael Allen, Arthur Terry, and Heaney. Meetings were held at Seamus and Marie Heaney's house on Ashley Avenue. May 1968
saw the first issue of The Honest Ulsterman
, edited by James Simmons.
The Belfast Group ceased to exist in 1972
.
Philip Hobsbaum
Philip Dennis Hobsbaum was a British teacher, poet and critic.-Life:Hobsbaum was born into a Polish Jewish family in London, and brought up in Bradford, in Yorkshire. He read English at Downing College, Cambridge, where he was taught and heavily influenced by F. R. Leavis...
when he moved to Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
in October 1963
1963 in poetry
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* January 26 – Raghunath Vishnu Pandit, an Indian poet who wrote in both Konkani and Marathi languages, publishes five books of poems this day* The Belfast Group, a discussion group of poets in...
to lecture in English at Queen's University
Queen's University of Belfast
Queen's University Belfast is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The university's official title, per its charter, is the Queen's University of Belfast. It is often referred to simply as Queen's, or by the abbreviation QUB...
.
As with Hobsbaum's earlier discussion group in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, known as The Group
The Group (literature)
The Group was an informal group of poets who met in London from the mid 1950s to the mid 1960s. As a poetic movement in Great Britain it is often seen as a being the successor to The Movement.-Cambridge:...
, the meetings commenced with the discussion of a single poet's work. After a break for coffee and biscuits, there was an open session in which participants could read any work they wished to. The group met once a week, initially on Tuesday evenings at 8:00pm, later on Monday evenings. During term time it met at No. 4 Fitzwilliam Street, Philip and Hannah Hobsbaum's home near the university.
Seamus Heaney
Seamus Heaney
Seamus Heaney is an Irish poet, writer and lecturer. He lives in Dublin. Heaney has received the Nobel Prize in Literature , the Golden Wreath of Poetry , T. S. Eliot Prize and two Whitbread prizes...
attended group meetings from the start. Seven of the poems in Heaney's Eleven Poems (November 1965
1965 in poetry
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Meic Stephens founds Poetry Wales...
) were taken from his 'group sheets'. Heaney has said that the group "ratified the idea of writing". Michael Longley
Michael Longley
Michael Longley, CBE is a Northern Irish poet from Belfast.-Life and career:Longley was educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution and subsequently read Classics at Trinity College, Dublin, where he edited Icarus...
started attending after his return to Belfast in 1964
1964 in poetry
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Among the many books of poetry published this year, Robert Lowell's For the Union Dead is greeted with particular acclaim...
. He has said that the group gave "an air of seriousness and electricity to the notion of writing", and that he was "surprised by the ferocity of Hobsbaum's attack". Other participants over the years included: James Simmons, Paul Muldoon
Paul Muldoon
Paul Muldoon is an Irish poet. He has published over thirty collections and won a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and the T. S. Eliot Prize. He held the post of Oxford Professor of Poetry from 1999 - 2004. At Princeton University he is both the Howard G. B. Clark ’21 Professor in the Humanities and...
, Ciarán Carson
Ciaran Carson
Ciaran Gerard Carson is a Belfast, Northern Ireland-born poet and novelist.-Early years:Ciaran Carson was born in Belfast into an Irish-speaking family...
, Stewart Parker
Stewart Parker
James Stewart Parker was a Northern Irish poet and playwright.He was born in Sydenham, Belfast, of a Protestant working class family. While still in his teens, he contracted bone cancer and had a leg amputated...
, Bernard MacLaverty
Bernard MacLaverty
Bernard MacLaverty is a writer of fiction. He was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on 14 September 1942, and lived there until 1975 when he moved to Scotland with his wife, Madeline, and four children...
, Frank Ormsby
Frank Ormsby
Francis Arthur Ormsby is a Northern Irish poet.He was educated at St Michael's College, Enniskillen and Queen's University Belfast. He was editor of The Honest Ulsterman from 1969 to 1989, and has also edited the Poetry Ireland Review. Since 1976 he has been Head of English at the Royal Belfast...
and the critics Edna Longley
Edna Longley
Edna Longley is an Irish literary critic and cultural commentator specialising in modern Irish and British poetry.Now Professor Emerita at Queen's University Belfast, as a lecturer and later Professor of English at Queen's, Longley exerted a significant moderating and enabling influence on the...
and Michael Allen. Louis Muinzer, the translator and theatre director was also a member of the group.
In 1965
1965 in poetry
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Meic Stephens founds Poetry Wales...
and 1966
1966 in poetry
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Raymond Souster founds the League of Canadian Poets...
, the Belfast Festival at Queen's
Belfast Festival at Queen's
The Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen's is an annual arts festival held in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The 49th Festival will take place from 14 to 31 October 2011.-History:...
published pamphlets by some of the members of the group, including Heaney, Longley, and this attracted a certain amount of publicity. After Hobsbaum's departure for Glasgow in 1966
1966 in poetry
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Raymond Souster founds the League of Canadian Poets...
, the Group lapsed for a while, but then was reconstituted in 1968
1968 in poetry
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* The Belfast Group, a grouping of poets in Belfast, Northern Ireland, which was started in 1963 in poetry, lapsed in 1966 when founder Philip Hobsbaum left for Glasgow, is reconstituted this year by...
by Michael Allen, Arthur Terry, and Heaney. Meetings were held at Seamus and Marie Heaney's house on Ashley Avenue. May 1968
1968 in literature
The year 1968 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Dean R. Koontz's first novel, Star Quest is published....
saw the first issue of The Honest Ulsterman
The Honest Ulsterman
The Honest Ulsterman was a long running Northern Ireland literary magazine that was established by James Simmons in 1968. It was then edited for twenty years by Frank Ormsby....
, edited by James Simmons.
The Belfast Group ceased to exist in 1972
1972 in poetry
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* John Betjeman becomes Poet Laureate...
.
Sources
- 'The Belfast Group: A Symposium': The Honest Ulsterman, No. 53 (Nov/Dec 1976)
- The Cambridge Companion to Contemporary Irish Poetry, Cambridge University Press, 2003