Stuart Finegan, London Independent Story Prize 2024 2nd Competition Poetry Finalist 'Cemetery Men'

London Independent Story Prize 2024 2nd Competition Poetry Finalist 'Cemetery Men' ­by Stuart Finegan

Can you please tell us about you and your daily life?

I’m a Senior Project Manager working in the Construction Industry, with a keen interest in writing. My upbringing in Dublin involved books, storytelling and meeting interesting ordinary people. My daily life is hectic with work so I tend to write while either on a train, bus or walking down the street. I also write very quickly with little or no editing, as I want to capture the exact moment when I see or hear something that inspires me to write.    

- When and how did you get into writing?

I grew up in 1970, 80’s Dublin and was surrounded by great characters and storytellers. I had an English teacher who encouraged his students to write stories about their daily encounters with family, friends and ordinary people they met. So, from an early age, I’ve taken notes on people and situations I’ve found myself in.

- How often do you write?

It depends on what I'm doing at a particular time. It can be daily, weekly or sometimes I can go weeks without writing. Do you have a writing routine? Not really. I can easily write while observing people on the bus or just walking down a street. Or if I overhear someone, say something interesting or funny. I love to people-watch. And what inspires you to write? It can be a number of things: music, emotions, people, daily events, or words people use to describe a situation, to name a few.

- How does it feel to have your work recognised?

I'm always very surprised when it happens. When I write, I don’t think about what other people might think or say about it. I write for myself first as its initially a personal piece I’m writing. I only share some of my writing with a select few people. For this competition, I’ve not shown this piece to anyone except you.    

- What's the best and most challenging thing about writing poetry? The best is the freedom to write what I see, hear, etc, and the most challenging is finding the right words to articulate what I’m saying.  

-  How did you develop the idea for your LISP-selected story? Is there a story behind your story? And, how long have you been working on it?

I write very fast with little or no editing. The idea for my poem came while observing some elderly men digging a grave one day in Dublin. I was sitting at my Grandfathers grave, and in the distance, I could hear their shovels working. The respect they showed for the work they undertook was very evident on their faces. So, I wrote this on my phone while observing them.   

- Can you please give us a few tips about writing poetry?

I'm not qualified enough, sorry.

- What's the best thing and the most challenging thing about competitions? I don’t see it as a challenge, the opportunity to submit a poem that someone might like, for me is the joy of writing. For me, everyone can write poetry in their own way, it's just giving them the confidence to put pen to paper or record it on your phone.

- Lastly, do you recommend the writers submit to LISP? Yes, the ability to write stories, poems etc is within us all. Some people make a successful career from it, and that’s great, others join writing classes to develop skills, or people can write just as a personal thing. The LISP is a great opportunity for other people to read the work of strangers and hopefully connect with their words.