Writer Linda McKenna talks about collaborating with Ross Thompson on  A Silent War. 

A Silent War began as a series of poems written during the first COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. What poet, Ross Thompson has created is a new kind of war poetry, encountering the existential threat posed by the virus as previous generations would have responded to military conflicts. 

Ross Thompson invited other poets and writers to collaborate with him by making recordings of this suite of poems, reaching out at a time when Coronavirus, and the rules which were created to contain it, were creating a profound sense of disconnection for many people. Writers recorded poems in their own home and these recordings were shared online to raise funds for Cruse Bereavement Care.

Interviewee Linda McKenna

Interviewed and filmed by Michael MacBroom

Edited by Michael MacBroom and Paul McClintock

Poetry by Ross Thompson

A Silent War Creative Producers: Sinéad Bhreathnach-Cashell & Ann Donnelly

Funded by the Department for Communities through Northern Ireland Screen

• Good Grief UK Resources
• Cruse