John Hewitt Biography | Poet

John Harold Hewitt (28 October 1907 – 22 June 1987), who was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, was the most significant Irish poet to emerge before the 1960s generation of poets that included Seamus Heaney, Derek Mahon and Michael Longley. He was appointed the first writer-in-residence at Queen's University Belfast in 1976. His collections include The Day of the Corncrake (1969) and Out of My Time: Poems 1969 to 1974 (1974). He was also made a Freeman of the City of Belfast in 1983, and was awarded honorary doctorates the University of Ulster and Queen's University Belfast.