Interview by Annamay McKernan, Tatler Woman, 24th June 2002
Fast Movers: Sinead Morrissey

Born in Portadown and a past pupil of Belfast High School, Sinead Morrissey has recently taken part in the tenth annual 'aspects' literary festival in Bangor, where she performed alongside poets Michael Longley and Michael Donaghy. Sinead Morrissey decided to return to Northern Ireland a few years ago after a spell of illness, having travelled as far as Dublin, Japan and New Zealand.

Her poems have been likened to journeys, not just from place to place but on a more spiritual level and, considering how much of the world she has already taken in during the past decade or more, this comes as no surprise to Sinead Morrissey, who believes that, through her work and particularly her experience at 'aspects', she has been able to offer "fresh perspectives" to the Northern Irish audience.

"I wasn't brought up in either community as my parents were atheists, so I think that's given me a degree of impartiality," she says. "Travel can also change the way you see things when you get back home, and 'aspects' provided a marvellous opportunity for me to introduce the poems in my new book to a home audience."

Recognition of her work through awards and commendations over the years has hardly been scarce for Sinead Morrissey - she was a prize-winner in various children's poetry competitions throughout the UK and Ireland and was the youngest ever recipient of the Patrick Kavanagh Award for Poetry in 1990 at the age of 18 - but she is remarkably grounded and dedicated in her outlook for the future. "I'm trying to get the bulk of my Ph.D (on the eighteenth-century novel) written this academic year, so a typical day for me at the moment involves eight hours of heavy duty thinking on the computer. When I've just about had it with that, I cook, or go to a yoga class, and then I read in the evenings."

One of those whose work she particularly admires is that of Australian poet Les Murray. "He's dazzlingly prolific," she says, "which I admire enormously as I'm just the opposite. He has a wonderful eye for the animals, plants, landscapes, weather and people of Australia, and always surprises by taking poems in unexpected directions."

What advice then, does Sinead Morrissey have for budding writers and creative minds?

"I've been lucky with things like the Kavanagh Award, and I also work extremely hard. Perhaps the most important aspect of success is trusting your own talent, which can be the most difficult thing on earth to do. Not having that trust makes persevering impossible."