Launch of Anne Casey’s ‘out of emptied cups’
The launch of Anne Casey’s ‘out of emptied cups’ sparkled with breathtaking poetry and poignant melodies; Anne’s reading was complimented by the musical interludes of Three Women Sing and the combined effect was mesmerizing. I bought a copy of the book before taking my seat, in order to ensure an enhanced read-along experience. Following a…
Pascale Petit & Paul Durcan at The Shaking Bog – Review
To be surrounded by mountains is to be held in a green, sloping hug . . . Those were my feelings en route to The Shaking Bog Festival to see legendary poets: Pascale Petit and Paul Durcan. My friend and I had stopped to soak up the atmosphere and we felt elevated! Our scenic drive…
Sustenance – Spoken Word Poem
At a time when food meant skin with folds, I hungered for all things sweet: iced buns, custard, marzipan fruit . . .
Russian Doll – Motherhood Poem
We’re sacrificing a Russian Doll, my husband says and I see her waist, the curve defining head and body – a body of coal.
My Poem – Milk – in New Welsh Review
As a teenager who dabbled in writing when no one was looking, I had a copy of The Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook and picked out three top Welsh journals: New Welsh Review, Poetry Wales and Planet. I bought copies of these journals, flicked through them, a little hopelessly, then placed them on a bookshelf to…
Adventures in Label Lit
This year, Poetry Day Ireland was made all the more special by my participation in Label Lit: an innovative project, bringing poetry to the people, devised by Poet and Artistic Director, Maria McManus. For 2019, the project was given extra impact with the addition of sound! All fifty participating poets recorded their poems of place…
Black Rabbit – A Poem for Easter
I remember the black rabbit sat on a throne of hill, the gold-specked, green slide down to the road, where we stopped cars to wait for his shadow.
Blossom – Spring Poem
‘Blossom’ is a poem for spring and its flyaway beauty. I was inspired to write it after reading a number of spring poems online, including Billy Collins’ ‘Today’, which I shared on Twitter. Although I have written about rain-drenched and sun-proud summers, flaring autumns and sparkling white winters, spring has been somewhat neglected . .…
Discussing Kathleen Jamie Selected Poems
With Focus on Crossing the Loch and The Blue Boat Kathleen Jamie’s ‘Selected Poems’ is a substantial volume containing poems from her collections: Black Spiders, The Way We Live, The Autonomous Region, The Queen of Sheba, Jizzen, The Tree House, The Overhaul and The Bonniest Companie. My reading eye has only just begun to alight…