The President has said he is deeply grateful for being honoured with the John B Keane Lifetime Achievement Award at Listowel Writers’ Week.
This literary festival opened last night with the accolade being presented to President Higgins at a gathering in the Listowel Arms Hotel.
President Michael D Higgins said Listowel Writers’ Week had long been a space where creativity is encouraged and where new ideas can flourish.
The President paid tribute to John B Keane commenting that it was now 22 years since his passing and described him as a fearless writer not afraid to confront difficult themes while also being an author of great humour.
President Higgins recalled when John B Keane was ill and could not launch his poetry collection, John B asked another Listowel literary great, Bryan McMahon, to step in which he did with elegance and scholarship:
President Michael D Higgins said the world had much changed since his last address at Writers’ Week in 2012.
He told the audience that a dark shadow of war and conquest had been cast across the world and that resources are going to the military-industrial complex while food insecurity goes unaddressed.
The President said it was appropriate that this year’s theme for Writers’ Week is Mother Nature.
He said writers, through their work, challenge us to envision newer, more ethical ways of living and promoting sustainability.
