Celebrating Past Pupil Success: Vincent Forsyth – Poet

Occasionally on our blog we write about past pupils of St. Brigid’s, Greystones. There is a great variety in the successes of our past pupils.

Last year we told you about  Emily’s Green Fingers and her contribution to the Greystones community. 

Before that we wrote about Harry who is having great success musically. We called that post ‘Mighty Oaks from Little Acorns grow’ . 

We also told you about a girl called Caroline Dwyer Hickey who became a much loved teacher, remembered by her family with the gift of The Greystones Bear to this seaside town.

From an original story that Emer Nolan composed for ‘Write A Book’, her Mum, Sineaid Doyle has written a book. Titled ‘Mary Wolftide’, it is now available on Kindle.

Now to this ‘Hall of Fame’ we add poet Vincent Forsyth. Vinnie Forsyth was in Junior Infants with us in the early 2000s. He moved with his family to Wexford in 2006.

Vincent is in 5th Year now in Enniscorthy and is writing poetry. Having left our school ten years ago, we can take no credit for Vincent’s success but we really wanted to know what made him a poet!

Vincent

We wrote to Vincent to tell him that we thought his poetry was great. We had some questions for him and this is what he told us:

‘I started writing poetry because I realized there is so much that a person can express but they don’t and I always liked English and I was told I had a good way with words, and that it could bring me far.

I had done small bits when I first moved from Greystones but that was just before secondary, and I didn’t realize how easy it would be to get out there and start my own page to post my writing. 

In secondary, I began writing as there were quite a few clubs that I wanted to join, such as the creative writing group and that was sort of the kick start of it all.

With the creative writing group I’ve met a few Irish poets such as Colm Keegan, John W. Sexton and Garry Mc Carthy. They were really interesting to meet and it was inspiring their love for words. It was also comforting that they were as crazy as me! 

I love reading, but as I am in 5th year, I’m trying to study more, so I don’t get to indulge in my books like I would want to. My advice for younger people is to just get out and do it.

Find something you are passionate about and write. Even if you need a helping help to get to started, don’t be afraid to ask.

You ask me about ambitions for the future, that’s a tough question. I’d like to do so much, but will I ever have time to do it all? I would love to maybe going into lyric writing as of late I have been doing so much of it, and maybe some sort of performance art. 

Favorite poet? There is so many! I really like the poet I’m studying now, and that is Sylvia Plath, and maybe Elizabeth Bishop. 

Oh and as an added note about the creative writing, I received an award for speaking in the Nation Library Dublin for the Writing Reading and Performance Poetry Initiative abbreviated WRaPPAround, and within school I received Best Junior Writer award also. 

I could possibly go on for years about writing. It’s such a great thing to know and once you have your way with words, it’s hard to lose it.

The last thing I shall say is that I have this super awesome new book of writing which will be released soon! Exciting stuff.’

Vinnie has self published eight books of poetry online. One of his approaches to to ask people to submit a word or a sentence and he writes a poem based on that. Here is a powerful poem Vincent wrote called:

The Underdog

 Poem2

We felt we knew what he was talking about.

We also REALLY like this one: ‘One Step at a Time’ 

If you want to read more of Vincent’s poetry, click on this link to see his most recent book ‘A Lone Declaration’.

Many thanks to Vincent for answering our questions, allowing us to share his work and his advice to us about writing. We wish him every success and will follow his career with interest.

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