Talented Longford writer receives Highly Commended accolade in Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Awards

A talented Longford writer is celebrating after he was the recipient of a Highly Commended award for his collection of poems entitled 'The Pear Tree' in the Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Awards 2022.

Jakub Safiak came to Ireland from Poland in 2005 and he was delighted with his success. There were 195 submissions for the Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Awards and in addition to the winner, the adjudicator selected eleven highly commended award recipients, including Jakub.

‘The Pear Tree’ is not only a collection of poems but a collection of Jakub’s inspirations as well.

He explained, “‘The Pear Tree’ collection explores the intricacies of relationships, values, morality, happiness, suffering and, most importantly, love. Set against the background of the changing seasons, ‘The Pear Tree’ intertwines the complexity of human life with the harmony of nature, offering the reader a perspective on existence which both inspires the mind and motivates the heart.”

Jakub has since published the entire collection which includes 100 poems (only 20 took part in the Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Awards competition). The book is now available on all Amazon platforms. Jakub published it independently using Kindle Direct Publishing and he is very proud of the fact that the entire project from start to finish is his own work, poems, design and cover photo.

He started writing when he was about 16 and he considers himself predominantly a singer songwriter. Jakub explained, “I play the guitar and compose music. That’s how it all started in a nutshell when I was in secondary school. So, I have been writing and playing for most of my life. I am a University of Wroclaw graduate and hold an MA in English Literature.”

Upon arriving here in 2005, Jakub put his pen and guitar ‘on the shelf’, however, he returned to writing and composing full time in 2020 and having enough material he thought to be worth sharing he began his own YouTube channel.

He has released two music albums: vocal ‘So Many Different Ways’ and instrumental ‘Bedtime Stories’ (both available on Spotify, YouTube Music, Apple Music, Amazon and all other major online platforms).

In June 2021, Jakub started writing what he calls ‘garden poetry’ under the title pear tree which was planted in his garden to remember the day when his son was born in 2009. “At some point, after a few garden poems, I loved the theme and the structure looming out of it and decided to write 100 of them. It took a full year to complete. Then, when I was getting ready to publish the book, a friend of mine shared a link on Facebook to the Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award 2022 and I submitted my collection.”

Jakub gets his inspiration from a variety of sources; the music he listens to, other poetry he reads, trauma he goes through, nature, family and love. “I am an avid reader. A mountaineer at heart, I love travelling, photography, practising Tai Chi and making pottery.”

Jakub’s future plans include two music projects that are nearing completion and are likely to be released at some stage in 2023. And he has another poetry collection in mind but it is at a very early stage and will need time to develop.