The Poetry Collective

The Western Skyline Podcast – Summer podcasts

Karen J McDonnell

Dearie me! Where has the summer gone? I hope it has been just peachy for all of you.

Time to get up to date with the podcasts from The Western Skyline. Due to writing and life commitments, the show is being broadcast on a monthly basis since June. Here’s what we’ve been getting up to this summer:

13 JULY 2019

Some arts info on this mid-summer Western Skyline, but July’s show is mostly about the music: Stevie Nicks, Don Henley, One Republic, Fleetwood Mac – and it wouldn’t be summer for me without a does of the Spencer Davis Group.
Enjoy. I’ll be back in September as my August slot is during the Cruinniu Festival – and I’ll be working elsewhere!

15 JUNE 2019

Eilis Haden-Storrie dropped in on The Western Skyline for a chat about her book launch. Spotlight is on this year’s Galway Intl Arts Festival, with music from ABC, David Bowie, Kim Wilde, Howard Jones, Joy Division, Blue Oyster Cult, and The Hothouse Flowers. Plus more local arts news.

 

18 MAY 2019

On the show I was joined by four members of The Poetry Collective – poets based mainly in counties Clare & Galway.
Patrick Stack, Knute Skinner, Mary Ellen Fean, & Fred Johnston discuss, and read from, their work. There’s some arts news, and the music is from the Middle East and Africa: Senegal, Egypt, Libya, Palestine and Jordan. A wee change from the Eurovision, which happened to be on that night. Ahem.

 

04 MAY 2019

On The Western Skyline we looked at Fleadh na gCuach as it happened in Kinvara, the forthcoming Galway Theatre Festival, and committee member Tonii Kelly dropped by to chat about the new HEART of Gort Festival taking place on 17/18th May. Plus lots of great music, and news of an arts opportunity for young Co Galway people!

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A Festival of Writing; A Festival of Reading

Karen J McDonnell

Image result for ennis book club festival 2019

If it’s the first weekend in March, it can only mean one thing – it’s time for the Ennis Book Club Festival.

And this year, thank goodness, there’s no Storm Emma dumping tons of snow on the country to cancel the whole thing.  Storm Freya is approaching from the south though, but so far all we have had to deal with is LOTS of rain. And hey! – a book festival is mostly indoors anyhoo!

Yesterday, I joined my companeros in the Poetry Collective, and other poetry lovers, for the monthly First Friday in the library in Ennis. We had a great crowd – the interest is growing for this monthly event. Thanks to Martin Vernon who is such a good host, and who read a lovely poem in memory of his sister. AND who brought a lovely vase of daffodils and treated us to Wordsworth’s poem. A lovely Spring reading.

Then to St Columba’s church to hear Thomas Lynch speak on death and grief and memory. He got a wonderful introduction from writer Grace Wells. Then he mused on the loss of writers Philip Casey, Macdara Woods, Dennis O’Driscoll, Seamus Heaney and Matthew Sweeney – such a rollcall of the lost.  But the work remains.  Thank you, Tom, for your company and gracious words.

And now, I must sign off and head into Ennis again. This morning it’s the tradition to go to ’10 Books You Should Read’  with my mother.  In the afternoon, I join my sister poets for a #Fired inspired reading in the Record Break Café –  The Seven Sisters.  As with last year, we will read some of our own work, but also work by Irish poets who have been neglected in the last hundred years or so.  This year I’m reading work by Helen Waddell.

After last year’s cancellation, it’s a joy to be joining in the live recording of RTÉ radio’s live recording of Sunday Miscellany. That takes place in Glór at 11.30am. There may be a few tickets left for the early birds!

And so – to the Festival!

Poetry Month: keeping on keeping on

Karen J McDonnell

There’s quite a post waiting to be written about ‘The Year of the Book’.

This time last year, I had just submitted the final MS of This Little World to Doire Press, and was waiting for the first editor/writer discussion. It was an exciting time, and everything was so new. Well, it was my first book, after all!

And the new experiences continue … 

The new year was barely a week old when I received some invitations to take part in readings during the year ahead. In a way, it’s hard to believe that it’s April already.

This week I got news that I’ve been awarded a writer’s residency, I was invited to participate in the Wild Voices Writers Salon readings at Listowel Writers Week, and I was invited to be a part of the special Take Heart edition of spontaneity.com The edition links up with the Take Heart Pop Up Exhibition which takes place in Dublin on 10 May. More details of that here.  Images and signed books will be auctioned, with all proceeds going to the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre. Congrats to Ruth, Angela, and all the organisers of this great event.

For such good news, my thanks go to Co. Offaly Arts Office, Annemarie Ní Churreáin, and Ruth McKee.

Finally – It’s Poetry Month! April 26th is Ireland’s Poetry Day.

On Thursday the 26th, at 4 pm, in Ennis Educational Centre we will announce the winners of the Every Child A Poet Competition – organised and judged by the Poetry Collective. I helped draw up the shortlist, so I’m looking forward to hearing the children read their work. We had an increase in entries from last year. It’s fantastic that the kids engage with poetry, and to see the support that’s given to the competition by their teachers and parents.

Before all that fun, I’ll be reading at the DeValera Library with other members of the Poetry Collective at 11 am. The theme this year is Poetry Without Borders: we will read poems by non-Irish poets, and works we’ve written about places & people encountered abroad.  The lovely people in the Library will supply morning coffee/tea, and everyone is welcome. What we REALLY would like is if you would also bring along a favourite poem to read.

Poets and librarians don’t bite – generally! You would be so welcome.