Off to the edge of the world
Eoghan Smith, author and lecturer in English and creative studies at Carlow College St Patrick's
AUTHOR Eoghan Smith is off “to the edge of the world”.
The Carlow College lecturer has won a prestigious residency. He will travel to the wilds of Ballinskelligs, Co Kerry in October to spend ten days in the remote Cill Rialaig Arts Centre.
Speaking to , a “delighted” Eoghan said he is looking forward to having no distractions.
“It’s ten days, including two weekends, so it’s quite a lengthy stay without any distractions. It allows you to seriously focus on your work.” The residency is funded through the Irish Writers Centre, which put out an open call for submissions earlier this year.
“It’s a competition. The submission must include your track record and it’s open to all kinds of artists, not just writers,” said Eoghan, adding that it’s a competitive process, which makes his selection even more pleasing.
One of the requirements is that artists are engaged in a current body of work. In Eoghan’s case, that’s the very early stages of his fourth novel.
“The residency is tied to a project you’re working on,” he said. “I’ve done about a fifth of it and have a good sense of the shape of it and where it’s going to go. That could take a year, it could take five years, but I’d like to have it done within the next year-and-a-half, that would be my aim.” He plans to dedicate his time solely to his writing.
“They don’t have television or internet, so I’ll be working away like some kind of medieval hermit,” he joked.
“It’s such a spectacular landscape, I’m just really looking forward to doing it.” Eoghan is a lecturer in English at Carlow College, where he teaches creative writing, modern and contemporary Irish writing and world literature.
The creative writing course he runs is hugely popular.
“We have a waiting list to get on to the course. A number of students have now been published in very reputable journals. The course attracts talent wishing to sharpen and hone their skills, as well as those just dipping their toes in,” he said.
Published by Dedalus Books, Eoghan’s novels are titled , and .
More information about his work is available at eoghansmithwriter.com.
