Poetry Now Festival

Let me say right at the start, I am a huge fan of the Poetry Now Festival, running for 16 years now in Dún Laoghaire, unfortunately rumoured to be in its last year. I hope DLR will reconsider.

It runs from Thursday 24th March to Sunday 27th March, 2011 all in Pavilion Theatre, Marine Road, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin and includes many well known and not so familiar names reading. poets and speakers from the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, Estonia and Poland as well as Ireland.

Website here

It also includes The Irish Times Poetry Now Award 2011 which recognises and rewards work by Irish poets. It recognises the best collection of poems published by an Irish poet in 2010. Up for it this year are Sara Berkeley, Ciaran Carson, Seamus Heaney, Dermot Healy and Paul Muldoon.

(IMHO this is the great and the good plus whoops we need a woman)

Highlights include:

Keynote Address: The American poet, Anne Carson
Thursday 24th March at 8.30pm. Quite pricey at €18/14/12.

Heather McHugh, another American poet and Michael Longley the white bearded poet from Belfast.
Friday 25th March at 8:30pm even more pricey at €20/15/12.

For This: Poems for Our Ireland
Saturday 26th March at 3.30pm. €12/10/8
several of the participating poets in this year’s festival, together with a number of special guest readers, will come together for a reading of poems which speak to them about Ireland, and the experience of living in Ireland, during these trying times.
With poets Dave Lordan, Joseph Woods, Borbála Faragó, Michael Cronin, Sinéad Morrissey, Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, Leanne O’Sullivan and Brian Lynch. Special guests will include musician Jinx Lennon, broadcaster Miriam O’Callaghan, Senator David Norris, novelist Dermot Bolger, historian Diarmaid Ferriter, Alice Leahy, director of Trust Ireland and poet and The Irish Times Managing Editor Gerard Smyth. Introduced by writer and broadcaster Vincent Woods.

Dave Lordan, the West Cork poet, Fiona Sampson widely published UK poet & Jaan Kaplinski from Estonia
Saturday 26th March at 6.30pm €14/10/8

The Strong Reading features readings by the poets selected for The Rupert and
Eithne Strong Award 2011. This award recognises first collections published in
English or Irish by Irish presses or by Irish writers in 2010. This year the nominees are Caitríona Ní Chléirchín, Grace Wells, Órfhlaith Foyle and Paul Maddern.
Sunday 27th March at 12 noon. €7/5

The fabulous Scottish poet Don Paterson & Ireland's own Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill
Sunday 27th March at 4pm. €10/8/6

Festival Ticket: €85 full price / €60 conc. / €50 student
(excludes workshops)

There are also workshops run by Don Paterson or Fiona Sampson. Apply e-mailing poetrynow@artscope.ie 3 poems and a list of publications before Wednesday 9th March, marking clearly your preferred workshop.