The literary community remains in mourning following the passing of poet John Montague, who has died aged 87. Only last month, Montague received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2016 The Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Awards. This glowing tribute was screened prior to the presentation:
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The award was presented by John Kelly, who recently interviewed Montague for an episode of The Works Presents. Watch the episode in full here.
On the night, Kelly read a highly personal tribute to Montague:
As I got older I realised that John was connected to writers all around the world. Brendan Behan, The Beats, John Berryman, Samuel Beckett – and that’s just the B’s. And I recall that when Beckett was coming towards the end of his life, some of us reassured ourselves by saying – even though we knew neither man – Montague has been to see him. Like he was our man in Paris.
Read and watch John Kelly's tribute to John Montague in full here.
