Crescent Patrons
The Crescent is delighted to have two passionate Patrons and who give their invaluable support to help The Crescent grow and develop.
Paul Muldoon
Poet, lyricist, librettist, translator, critic, editor and professor: Paul Muldoon is a literary great.
He has published thirteen major collections of poetry, from New Weather to Quoof, Moy Sand and Gravel to One Thousand Things Worth Knowing and most recently, Frolic and Detour.
He has won many prizes, including a Pulitzer, the T S Eliot, and the Griffin International Prize for Excellence in Poetry.
For more information about Paul PaulMuldoonPoetry.com
Dr. Roger Courtney
Roger’s involvement with The Crescent started in 1977. He was the founder of the centre and set up The Crescent in the derelict Victoria College building on Lower Crescent as a shared cross-community space, when the ‘Troubles’ were at their height. It was soon a hive of artistic and youth activity.
After three years, Roger was appointed Chief Executive of the Simon CommunityNI and was joint founder of the Northern Ireland Council for the Homeless.
In 1998, Roger was awarded an MBE and went freelance to provide advice and support to a wide range of third sector organisations on strategic planning, governance, fundraising, and quality, which he still provides today.
He trains Interim Executives to provide crisis leadership for third sector organisations and has provided temporary leadership including The Crescent in 2018/19.
The Belfast Book Festival is delighted to have three inspiring Northern Irish writers as its passionate Patrons and who give their invaluable support to help the festival grow and develop; poet Paul Muldoon; novelist, playwright and short-story writer Lucy Caldwell; and novelist Glenn Patterson. Click here to read more.
