Mid-Ulster poet Maura Johnston hosts writing workshop helping communities combat rural isolation

Participants spent the day writing under the theme of place. The project was supported by the National Lottery through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland’s National Lottery REAP programme.

REAP aims to provide an integrated, cohesive approach to the needs of rural communities by improving access to the arts and enhancing personal wellbeing for local people. The overarching theme of the Arts Council established programme is to tackle isolation and loneliness in rural areas, and with the help of professional artists and arts practice, promote social inclusion.

Cathy Brown, Arts Programmer, Seamus Heaney HomePlace, said: “We were delighted to host this workshop by esteemed local poet Maura Johnston. The Arts Council’s National Lottery Rural Engagement Arts Programme (REAP) funding has been a game changer for rural arts and is part of a much wider programme of arts events for the local community here in Mid-Ulster.

"REAP has funded a series of events since last October at HomePlace, including online workshops for people who can't physically get here. We've also had a series of film screenings for families, and we have lots more coming up in the next few months, including Geppetto, a family theatre show, which is also supported by REAP.”

Maura Johnston is a well-known poet and writer from the Moneymore area of South Derry.

In 2019 she published The Whetstone, her acclaimed collection of poetry and in 2020 she produced a glossary of Seamus Heaney’s hearth language entitled From Aftergrass to Yellow Boots.

Her poems have featured in numerous respected journals and have been broadcast on radio. She is also an accomplished writer of short stories and is much in demand as an adviser and facilitator on writing projects and as a tutor for creative writing groups.

Maura’s REAP supported workshop allowed participants the opportunity to explore ways of connecting with places that influenced them and reflect on the things which connect particpants to each other and to the past including customs, language and experiences.