Victoria Kennefick Explained

Victoria Kennefick is an Irish poet. She has been an artist/poet/writer in residence for Cork County Council, University College Dublin and the Yeats Society.[1] [2] She has been a recipient of bursaries from the Arts Council of Ireland and Kerry County Council.[3] [4] Her collection Eat or We Both Starve won the Seamus Heaney Centre First Collection Poetry Prize, and was shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize and Costa Book Award for Poetry.[5]

Background

Kennefick comes from Shanagarry, County Cork.[6] She studied in University College Cork (UCC) and obtained a Fulbright scholarship, with terms attended in Emory University and Georgia College & State University. She holds a doctorate in American literature from UCC.[7]

She was named Cork County Council writer-in-residence in December 2023.[8]

Personal life

Kennefick's father died while she was undertaking her doctoral work. Kennefick lives in Tralee, County Kerry, She has one child.[9]

Recognition and awards

Eat or We Both Starve won the Seamus Heaney Centre First Collection Poetry Prize,[10] and was shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize in 2021.[11]

Her work was quoted on a Leaving Certificate exam paper in 2023.

Works

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Writer in Residence 2023 - UCD School of English Drama Film . UCD.ie.
  2. Web site: May 12, 2022 . Victoria Kennefick - New Poet in Residence . Yeats Society Sligo.
  3. Web site: January 17, 2017 . Next Generation bursary 2016 - Kennefick, Victoria-171171103 . ArtsCouncil.ie.
  4. Web site: Poet Victoria Kennefick shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize . alumni.ucc.ie.
  5. Web site: O’Donoghue . Denise . November 24, 2021 . 'It's really lovely for poetry': Cork poet shortlisted for £30k Costa Book Awards . IrishExaminer.com.
  6. Web site: June 12, 2023 . Poem by Tralee based poet, Victoria Kennefick, appears on Leaving Cert . Independent.ie.
  7. News: Victoria Kennefick on White Whale: navigating the poetry of grief . subscription . The Irish Times.
  8. Web site: Victoria Kennefick announced as Cork County Council Writer in Residence | Cork County Council . CorkCoCo.ie.
  9. Web site: May 4, 2022 . Something For The Weekend: Victoria Kennefick's Cultural Picks . RTE.ie.
  10. Web site: 10 April 2019 . Announcing the winner for the Seamus Heaney First Collection Poetry Prize 2022. . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220703002940/https://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/seamus-heaney-centre/news/SeamusHeaneyFirstCollectionPoetryPrizeWinner2022.html . 3 July 2022 . 24 June 2022 . Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry.
  11. Web site: 2021-10-15 . T S Eliot Prize shortlist announced . 2024-01-17 . . en-AU.