Wednesday, May 11, 2022
IRISH POETRY READING ARCHIVE
Wednesday, May 04, 2022
LOW-FLYING DUCKS & POETRY
There are always amusing or special moments from changing skies to kangaroos and foxes giving you a nod or low-flying ducks or hawks swiftly passing your windscreen.
So grateful to have an interview in The Monthly arts journal published online by Community Arts Partnership (CAP) in Belfast, Ireland. They’ve also provided links to five of my eight readings filmed at the James Joyce Library at University College Dublin (UCD). Worth visiting for the range of poetry interviews from Scottish-Australian poet Ali Whitelock, to Scottish poet Magi Gibson and Canadian poet Catherine Graham. There are videos of Seamus Heaney reading Digging and Sinéad Morrissey talking about her poem inspired by the painting Titian, and spoken word music, podcasts and links to International Page and Stage online events, just to mention some.
Great thanks to Ali Whitelock for connecting me with The Monthly and to Gordon Hewitt, editor, for the opportunity.
Photo: Oh aye — wandered past this plaque in Dublin
for the UCD readings but we were too late for Seamus
Sunday, May 01, 2022
MAY DAY MAY DAY POETRY CALL OUT
BRANCHING INTO TREE POETRY
Monday Night
Thursday, April 28, 2022
LOOKING SIDELONG AT POETRY
Monday, April 18, 2022
OK RIGHT — POETRY & BELONGING
Thursday, April 14, 2022
IPS RITES OF WOMEN ZOOM
What a blast it was reading with Marion Clarke (Northern Ireland), Amy Louise Wyatt (Northern Ireland), Kiri Piahana-Wong (New Zealand) and Makyla Curtis (New Zealand) in the International Page and Stage (IPS) Rites of Women Zoom event on Sunday night (my time). Great thanks to Gordon Hewitt for the invitation and Susan Millar DuMars for hosting the event.
The poetry was varied and evocative, rhythmic and striking and as someone else said — just sumptuous. These events Zoom and FB livestream, then remain on the International Page and Stage Facebook page to be accessed at any time afterwards. Now that I have discovered it I am working my way through previous events and enjoying poets from all over Ireland and from all over the world.
Thank you friends/colleagues Deborah Faeyrglenn (Canberra), Curt Linderman (US) from The Cool People, The Night People FB group (Billy Collins followers) and Victoria McGrath (Yass NSW) for being there on Sunday. Thank you also to Jenni Kemarre Martiniello whose capturing glasswork was the inspiration for my poem A Women's Work which was of interest.
I've provided links wherever possible to everyone's online presence or examples of their work, and here is the link for Sunday night's Rites of Women recording: https://www.facebook.com/Internationalpageandstage/videos/305292555050900 Watch the IPS Facebook page for new events.
Saturday, April 09, 2022
THAT POETRY THING MONDAY NIGHT
The charismatic Moni McInerney of the Belconnen Arts Centre (BAC will do me the honour of launching The Wear of my Face (Spinifex Press) at the sensational Smith's Alternative on Monday April 11 at 7 pm. The equally vibrant Sarah St Vincent Welch is MC representing the also sensational That Poetry Thing that's on at Smith's Every Monday. (See leaflet below.)
That's neither of them in the photo by the way. Thinking about BAC's lake setting reminds me of my days during the first Covid lockdown. My isolation/social distancing was not as active this person's — you did notice the pic is taken from within the car, right? Laptops, books, flasks of tea, chocolate biscuits ...
I'm one of two launches on the night. The inimitable Kit Kelen is the other with his Book of Mother collection. Short open mike. Free admission. Pass the word on, eh.
Friday, April 08, 2022
SUNDAY'S INTERNATIONAL PAGE AND STAGE
Wednesday, January 12, 2022
A LOVE POEM
SCARPERED
2021: Up and down. In and out. Bereaved. Scarpered.
City Hall Belfast |
Cavehill |
Saturday, October 30, 2021
ANCIENTS
One of two ancient trees left on our patch. I think it's a Eucalyptus melliodora (yellow box) but would have to double check (I used to know). Really this is me trying to resolve some Blog loading problems. I would like to write a poem for these survivors though. Just read that the flowers come in groups of seven. Fancy that.
Oh by the way there was a review of The Wear of My Face (Spinifex Press) in The Canberra Times recently. Great thanks to Canberra poet Penelope Layland: There is a sense here of a poetic intelligence looking sidelong, as one looks to the night sky to see objects of distant beauty - even when the subject of the poet's focus is something concretely calamitous. You can read the whole review online here.