As he launches his debut poetry collection next week in Enniskillen, local poet and writer John Monaghan has shared his gratefulness to the writers' groups that have inspired and guided him along his writing path and encouraged him to create this publication.

Titled 'I Can Dream', the collection features a selection of John's work from over half a century of writing.

Originally from County Mayo, John describes himself as something of a nomad, having lived in each of the four provinces of Ireland, and for over two decades in London. He has lived in Enniskillen for the past nine years and hopes to settle in County Fermanagh permanently.

"My poetry has been influenced by the places I have lived, the things I've done and seen as well as the people I have known," said John, who started writing poetry as a teenager.

"I wrote consistently until I was probably about 30 and then I virtually stopped for a number of years," he said, going on to explain that he started writing more consistently again when he moved to London and joined Harrow Writers' Circle.

"I found that group very helpful and then I got quite prolific for a few years in writing. I wrote stuff that I had been thinking about for years but never had gotten around to."

For eight years John was the secretary of the Harrow Writers' Circle and for a year and a half before he left London, he was chairperson of the group.

"Then I came to Enniskillen but before I'd left London, I'd actually looked up where there was a writing group because that was [important to me]," he said, noting that he discovered the Fermanagh Writers and shortly after moving to the county, he joined the group.

"That has helped me enormously because of the number of workshops that I've attended, which is a wonderful thing that the group do," added John, commenting that a couple of the poems featured in the collection were directly inspired by these writing workshops, which the group receives funding for through the Arts Council NI.

"There are two that spring to mind. One, which was from a workshop that Teresa Kane [a local writer] did last year and it's called 'Mysteries of the Bones', which is this short poem that basically came out of the workshop.

"Then some years back we had [a workshop with the poet] Paula Meehan, and she just used a phrase which resonated with me. She used the phrase 'listen back'. And a few weeks later, the phrase had stuck in my mind.

"I just sat down, and the poem came as quickly as I could write, in five/10 minutes. I didn't have to do much with it afterwards.

"Out of that I wrote some other poems," said John, noting how Paula had encouraged those partaking in the workshop to use their past experiences and memories.

"She said, 'don't look back, listen back', using the sounds that you may have heard in your past. And once I had written that poem 'Listen Back', it sort of triggered a few other things like childhood memories and teenage memories.

Talking about some of the other poems featured in the collection, John explained that he has poems inspired by family members, including one about his grandfather called 'Hay Barn', as well as poems about nature, recovering from depression and how an emigrant might feel when they are away from home.

"There's a wide range of things. If there are things that strike me, I sit down and just write basically," John told this newspaper.

He went on to thank Harrow Writers Circle and Fermanagh Writers for helping him along his writing path. He also is grateful to his partner Carissa Cahill for helping him to choose the poems in the collection and for designing the cover, which features a beautiful image of a sunset over the sea with a lone sea bird flying towards it.

"I think it's particularly appropriate," said John of the cover design.

'I Can Dream' will be officially launched on Tuesday, December 6 at 7.30pm in the Atrium Bar of Blakes of the Hollow, Enniskillen. All are welcome to attend the launch event, which is sponsored by Enniskillen BID and will include poetry readings and an opportunity to purchase the collection. It will also be for sale locally at Ramsey's Picture Framing in The Buttermarket, Enniskillen and online via Amazon.