Poetry Now

There is so much going on at the Mountains to the Sea festival in Dun Laoghaire in September as well as the poetry strand, Poetry Now, that used to be a festival in its own right.
There's also an expanding fringe festival which includes readings in shops, pubs and other outreach venues. I will be reading at the closing event, an open mic - more details to come.

Timetable and brochure here

Here are my choices of highlights of Poetry Now, curated by the poet, Paul Perry this year.

Poetry Now Keynote Address with James Fenton

Thursday 6 Sep

at Pavilion Theatre

Hailed as a ‘modern master’ by Ian McEwan, former Oxford Professor of Poetry and winner of the Queen’s Gold Medal, James Fenton has written some of the most memorable lyric verse of the past decades. He'll be discusssing one of my favourite poets, Philip Larkin.
Price: €15/€12

Friday 7th September  8:30pm
at Maritime Museum
James Fenton will be reading with Moya Cannon
Price: €12/€10

Saturday 8th September 1pm
The Irish Times Poetry Now Award
Assembly Rooms, County Hall
The shortlist for the Irish Times Poetry Now Award 2012 is:

• Moya Cannon – Hands – Carcanet Press
• Michael Longley – A Hundred Doors – Cape Poetry
• John Montague – Speech Lessons – Gallery Press
• Bernard O’Donoghue – Farmers Cross – Faber and Faber
• Macdara Woods – The Cotard Dimension – Dedalus Press

Price:Free 

8.30pm
 Mark Doty and Paula Meehan
Maritime Museum
Price: €12/€10

Sunday 9th September 2pm
Tomas Transtromer Tribute and celebratory panel discussion for the most recent Nobel prize winner for poetry.
Pavillion Theatre.
Entry: €12/€10

4pm
Strong Reading
This Year’s nominees are:

• Ailbhe Darcy, Imaginary Menagerie, Bloodaxe Books
• Noel Duffy, In the Library of Lost Objects, Ward Wood
• Eoghan Walls, The Salt Harvest, Seren
• Nerys Williams, Sound Archive, Seren

Kingston Hotel
Entry:  €5