2024 Michael Hartnett Poetry Award winner announced as Tara Bergin

The 2024 Michael Hartnett Poetry Award-winning collection, Savage Tales (Carcanet 2022) has been described by one of this year’s judges, poet Mark Roper, as “utterly original, fiercely funny, compulsively readable, very vulnerable and hugely enjoyable.”

Dublin-born poet, Tara Bergin has been announced as winner of the 2024 Michael Hartnett Poetry Award

The winner of the Michael Hartnett Poetry Award 2024 is Dublin-born poet Tara Bergin who has been lauded as a “master of the specific incident and illustrative detail” and a poet of “tremendous courage.”

Her winning collection, Savage Tales (Carcanet 2022) has been described by one of this year’s judges, poet Mark Roper, as “utterly original, fiercely funny, compulsively readable, very vulnerable and hugely enjoyable.”

“Among many strong collections submitted this year for the Michael Hartnett Award, it stood out clearly as the winner,” he said. “It takes tremendous courage to present work in this way, in the refusal to allow anything inessential onto the page, thus leaving the greater part of every page empty.”

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His fellow judge, poet Vona Groarke praised Savage Tales as an “ingenious book”. “These are poems that cut into and inscribe contemporary life in ways that are, by turns, bitingly smart, inquisitive and fierce,” she said. “In both thoughtfulness and tenderness, it is a bravura performance”.

“This is a book that has a marvellously playful quality to it: rarely is a full collection of poems so enjoyable, so witty or so sharp.”

Speaking from her home in North East England where she is now based, Tara Bergin said, “Michael Hartnett said that the act of poetry was a rebel act. I agree. It makes for a strange sort of existence, often marked by doubt, uncertainty, solitude and failure. To receive this award feels like seeing a smoke signal go up from across the expanse. It says something like: keep going. That’s of immeasurable importance to any poet.”

“Poetry prizes are rare. Sometimes they bring as much disillusion as they do delight. I take encouragement from the fact that the Hartnett Award recognises a ‘third or subsequent collection’. This seems to me a genuine acknowledgment and celebration of the longevity of a poet’s search for creative expression, and shows a real understanding of the mysterious and unpredictable route that can be a poet’s writing life.”

Congratulating Ms Bergin on her win, the Mayor of Limerick, John Moran said, “The power of poetry to transcend daily life and take the reader into other worlds is special and Tara’s winning collection is a worthy winner. Council grants, initiatives and prizes such as this help ensure the vibrancy of a creative and diverse arts and literary scene both in Limerick and beyond.”

Étain McCooey, Arts Officer with Limerick City and County Council which supports the award, said Ms Bergin’s Savage Tales,selected from a large number of submissions, was “an exciting choice”.

“I am looking forward to hearing Tara in person at this year’s Eigse and am pleased and proud that Limerick City and County is continuing to support the poetry award 25 years after the death of Michael Hartnett,” she added.

Ms Bergin will be presented with the Michael Hartnett Poetry Award on the opening night of Éigse Michael Hartnett which takes place in Newcastle West, Co Limerick from October 3 to October 6. The award, which is valued at €8,000, is supported by the Arts Council and by Limerick City and County Council and is presented, on alternate years to collections in English and Irish.

Meanwhile, the programme for this year’s Éigse Michael Hartnett Literary and Arts Festival is being launched this week. Promising an exciting opening night, with Drum Dance Ireland leading a colourful parade of young and old, the programme includes readings, launches, film, debate, exhibitions, a poetry trail and a gala concert featuring Kíla.

On the 25th anniversary of Michael Hartnett’s death in October 1999, there will also be a Hartnett Walking Tour and the unveiling of a special commemorative plaque at the Hartnett family home.

Among this year’s guests are Kíla, Jon Kenny, Rita Ann Higgins, Mick Clifford, Marie Cassidy, Vona Groarke, Mark Roper, Natasha Remoundou, Claire Coughlan as well as local writers Mike Mac Domhnaill and Michael Upton. A special Kíla concert for children and families is also included in the programme.