Critically acclaimed poet and author Susanna Dickey represented Northern Ireland at the 14th edition of the Transpoesie Poetry Festival, which took place in Brussels between 26-28 September 2024. Organised by the European Union National Institute for Culture, the theme of Transpoesie 2024 was surrealism, celebrating a century since the birth of the surrealist movement. Susannah, hailing from Derry, was selected by the Arts Council NI to represent the talent of our region and bring the vibrancy of Northern Ireland poetry to the people of Brussels in a wide range of cultural events.
Transpoesie celebrates multilingualism with a weekend of events taking place around the annual European Day of Languages and Linguistic Diversity. With the aim of making poetry accessible and inclusive, Transpoesie brings poetry into public spaces, with their original language and French and Dutch translations. This year, poets from twenty countries and regions across Europe performed as part of the festival.
Susannah Dickey is the author of two novels – Tennis Lessons (2020) and Common Decency (2022), which was a Waterstones Book of the Month. She was the recipient of an Eric Gregory Award in 2020 for her pamphlet ‘bloodthirsty for marriage’, a prize given to a collection of poetry by a poet under the age of 30, and she was shortlisted for The Sunday Times Short Story Prize in 2021. Her debut collection, ISDAL, was published in 2023 and was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection and the John Pollard Prize and was a book of the year in The Irish Times and The Guardian.
Susannah’s poem for the festival was ‘A postcard! Here you are!’ which she performed as part of the festival alongside other works from her ISDAL collection. Susannah performed in a wide range of settings including the Citizens’ Garden, the Embassy of Luxembourg, and the Royal Galleries. Susannah performed alongside poets from Wales, Romania, Guernsey, Jersey, Luxembourg and the Basque Country.
To celebrate our participation in the festival, the Office of the Northern Ireland Executive in Brussels was pleased to co-host a fantastic Transpoesie lunchtime poetry reading on the 26th of September, with the Welsh Government and Channel Islands Brussels Office. Susannah was joined by Esyllt Lewis (Wales) and Lupin Vivian (Guernsey) for a delightful discussion and reading of their work.
To keep up to date with our events in Brussels, make sure to follow @BrusselsNI on X (Twitter) and @Brussels_NI on Instagram. To keep up to date with Susannah’s work, follow her on Instagram or X (Twitter) at @SusannahDickey.