Sligo and the Sense of Place

Sligo and the Sense of Place: A Writing Course at Sligo Central Library

It is this feeling, assenting, equable marriage between the geographical country and the country of the mind […] that constitutes the sense of place in its richest possible manifestation. (Seamus Heaney, ‘The Sense of Place’, 1977)

Sligo has a long history of local folklore and urban myth. From the faery lore and haunted landscapes that so enraptured W.B. Yeats to the 1832 cholera epidemic which inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897), Sligo has always been a rich source of written and oral culture. And it is those kinds of stories – both real and imagined – that help create our sense of place.

Would you like to explore and write about Sligo and the Sense of Place? Join a six-week course convened by the writer and lecturer Dr Keith Hopper (ATU Sligo).

This course is open to experienced and aspiring writers in all genres including poetry, fiction and non-fiction. The focus will be on exploring Sligo’s folklore and urban myths (especially in the post-Independence period from 1924 onwards).

You will have the opportunity to work in a diverse group, learn new skills, and each week you will be taught by a different guest writer/lecturer.

Time: Saturday afternoons, 2.00-4.00pm, from 7 September to 12 October 2024.

Venue: Sligo Central Library.

Application: The course is free but numbers are limited. Applications are open to members of Sligo Libraries who are residing in County Sligo.

Note: Successful applicants will be required to attend all workshops. Please apply by emailing a short cover letter – no more than 300 words – explaining why you would like to do this course.

Submission Date: Email your application to centenaries@sligococo.ie AND sligolib@sligococo.ie (in case of technical issues) by Friday 2nd August 2024. Please put ‘Sligo and the Sense of Place Workshop’ in the subject line.