Reading some science poems at Books Upstairs

Please come along to this even where I am reading alongside some other scientist-poets.

Poems Upstairs: Science Meets Poetry

Wednesday 2 March, 7.00pm
Books Upstairs, Dublin
Tickets: €6 (includes a glass of wine)

On the anniversary of Bequerel’s discovery of radioactivity, join three poets who are also physicists, for a mind-blowing evening of science-inspired poetry introduced by Jim Malone, Robert Boyle Professor (Emeritus) of Medical Physics at Trinity College Dublin.

Iggy McGovern is a poet and retired academic. A Fellow Emeritus in the School of Physics at Trinity College Dublin, he edited the anthology 2012: Twenty Irish Poets Respond to Science in Twelve Lines (Dedalus), and co-edited Science Meets Poetry 3, published by Euroscience. His most recent book, A Mystic Dream of 4, a sonnet sequence based on the life of William Rowan Hamilton, 19th century Irish Mathematician & Poet, is published by Quaternia Press.

Kate Dempsey studied physics at Oxford University. “From the kitchen table to the Periodic Table, from dancing cows to drunken poets, Kate Dempsey puts our loves and lies under a powerful microscope,” says Iggy McGovern. Kate was nominated for the Forward Prize and was selected to read for the Poetry Ireland Introductions Series. She runs the Poetry Divas, a collective of women poets who blur the wobbly boundary between page and stage at events and festivals all over Ireland. The Space Between is her debut full-length poetry collection published by Doire Press.

Noel Duffy studied Experimental Physics at Trinity College Dublin. After a brief period in research he turned to writing and went on to co-edit (with Theo Dorgan) Watching the River Flow: A Century in Irish Poetry (Poetry Ireland, 1999).  His poetry has also been broadcast on RTE Radio 1’s Sunday Miscellany and Today with Pat Kenny. His debut collection In the Library of Lost Objects was published in 2011 by Ward Wood Publishing, London, and was shortlisted for The Strong Award for Best First Collection by an Irish Poet. His second collection On Light & Carbon followed in autumn 2013.

Link here

Mountains to Sea

Mountains to Sea, dlr Book Festival takes place from the 9^th to the 13^th of March.

Tickets are now on sale.

Michael Parkinson is headlining the festival in conversation with his son Mike. Donal Ryan, Pauline Bewick and Nuala O'Connor are also confirmed.

Cathy Cassidy will lead the family programme. Sarah Crossan, Patrick Ness and Louise O'Neill will join us to talk about their bestselling Young Adult books.

Pulitzer Prize winner Paul Muldoon, Theo Dorgan and AE Stallings are just some of the poets that will feature in the Poetry Now segment.

Here's the poetry but there's lots lots more

Friday March 11th		8.30pm		A.E. Stallings & Ciaran Carson		dlr LexIcon, The Studio
Saturday March 12th		10.00am		Poetry Masterclass with Colette Bryce		dlr LexIcon
Saturday March 12th		10.00am		Poetry Masterclass with A.E. Stallings		dlr LexIcon
Saturday March 12th		10.00am		Paul Muldoon Masterclass for Teenage Poets		dlr LexIcon
Saturday March 12th		12.30pm		The Irish Times Poetry Now Award		dlr LexIcon, The Studio
Saturday March 12th		2.30pm		Martin Dyar & Doireann Ní Ghríofa		dlr LexIcon, The Studio
Saturday March 12th		4.30pm		Colette Bryce & Frances Leviston		dlr LexIcon, The Studio
Saturday March 12th		6.30pm		Paul Muldoon introduced by Mick Heaney		Pavilion Theatre
Sunday March 13th		10.30am		Poetry Masterclass with Frances Leviston		dlr LexIcon
Sunday March 13th		11.00am		Poetry Masterclass with Doireann Ní Ghríofa		dlr LexIcon
Sunday March 13th		2.00pm		Shine/Strong Poetry Award Reading		dlr LexIcon, The Studio
Sunday March 13th		4.00pm		Theo Dorgan & Thomas McCarthy		dlr LexIcon, The Studio
Sunday March 13th		5.30pm		Maram al-Masri & Martha Serpas		dlr LexIcon, The Studio

Carlow Writers Creative Writing Workshops

Poetry 5th March
Fiction 9th April

What evocative object would inspire you to write a poem? What thing lies about the house that has special meaning for you, that could be a key to unlock a story you want to tell? 

'We find it familiar to consider objects as useful or aesthetic, as necessities or vain indulgences. We are on less familiar ground when we consider objects as companions to our emotional lives or as provocations to thought. The notion of evocative objects brings together these two less familiar ideas, underscoring the inseparability of thought and feeling in our relationship to things. We think with the objects we love; we love the objects we think with.'

Sherry Turkle, Evocative Objects: Things We Think With

Derek Coyle will lead a creative writing session that will explore the evocative object and we will produce work based on some treasured 'thing' that sits silently in the midst of our lives.

Join Derek Coyle and Simon Lewis for the first half of the day in Carlow's Teach Dolmain for a Creative Writing session with a concrete edge. 

Rozz Lewis and Edel Horan cover Fiction in April.

The Woman on the Other Side Book Launch

Friday 11th March 8pm
Crescent Arts Centre, Belfast.

Join Stephanie and Doire Press at the launch of The 'Woman on the Other Side'. The book will be launched by Moyra Donaldson and Stephanie will read from the collection.
FREE EVENT

‘Wonderfully wide ranging yet still retaining a sense of cohesion, this first collection by Stephanie concerns itself with the light and dark of our lives…The poems are vivid and sensual, singing with a clear, honest voice. A beautifully realised debut from a prize-winning poet.’

— Moyra Donaldson, author of The Goose Tree (Liberties Press)

‘This highly polished rich-ranging first collection is obsessed with “inner leanings”... Stephanie lays bare tensions between the domestic and the sexual, the natural and supernatural from a fiercely feminine perspective.

— Medbh McGuckian, author of The High Caul Cap (The Gallery Press)

‘Stephanie Conn’s debut is a collection rendered from experience, memory and imagination, and formed by a precise and exacting application of craft. 

— Alan Jude Moore, author of Zinger (Salmon Poetry)

The Penny Dreadful at Salon Nights

DLR Lexicon are hosting regular Salon Nights showcasing various Irish magazines and presses. This time it's the turn of Penny Dreadful.

Wednesday March 2, 8.00pm 

Studio (beside the Café), Ground Floor, dlr LexIcon

This month’s Salon Night hosted by dlr writer in residence Selina Guinness features The Penny Dreadful, a biannual, literary magazine, based in Cork, publishing poetry, fiction and reviews. It recently launched its own imprint, The Dreadful Press, and hosts The Penny Dreadful Novella Prize each summer. Editors John Keating and Mark O’Connell will be joined on the night by writers Dean Browne and Jessica Traynor.

Link here 

Staccato - a new evening of literature spoken word and music

I enjoyed reading at Staccato last month, a new evening downstairs in Toner's pub on Baggot Street, Dublin, an eclectic but highly enjoyable evening of poetry, fiction and music.

This month sees Mary O'Donnell, Breda Wall Ryan, Paul Bregazzi, Lisa Harding, Stephen James Smith and Aiden O'Reilly. Wednesday 24th February starting at 7.30pm or so. Free in, books for sale, bar. Scintillating company and scintillating words. What more could you want?

Poems about Roses for Sissinghurst

Have you ever been to Sissinghurst gardens in Kent? A beautiful place and the home of the Sackville-West family owned by the National Trust now.

On 10th June, Paper Swans, (as part of The Poetry Shelf), is joining with The National Trust for a poetry evening at Sissinghurst Castle. They are looking for poems on the theme of ‘roses’ to publish in a small pamphlet for the event and also on postcards.

Have a look at the site for some inspiration.

As this event is specific to The National Trust, Sissinghurst, they would welcome poems tailored to the property/Sackville-West as well as more generic poems.

• ONE submission per poet, please.
• Poems to be no more than 20 lines.
• We are happy to accept previously published poems, so long as you retain the copyright.
• e-mail submissions@paperswans.co.uk with ‘ROSES‘ in the subject line.
• Please attach your submission as a word document with YOUR NAME as its title.
• Closing date is 31st March 2016.

No fee but no prize bar the fame and glory.

We are a small press so we can’t offer you any payment, but can offer lots of publicity and the opportunity see your work in bookshops and at literary festivals.

Link here for more details.

Trócaire’s Annual Poetry Competition 2016

Trócaire’s annual poetry competition, in association with Poetry Ireland, uses the arts to raise awareness about the leading global justice issues of our time.

The theme of this year’s competition is Forced to Flee: “This is our exodus”.

 A great human tragedy continues to unfold in Syria and in the wider Middle East. Over 250,000 people have died in the Syrian conflict, 12 million are homeless and more than 4 million of them are refugees, mostly in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan.

Deadline: Wednesday 16th March 2016.

There are six categories in the competition: two for adults and four for children and teens: published and non-published adult poets; first level junior and senior cycle students; and second-level junior and senior cycle students.

Judges: poet Jane Clarke, Aidan Clifford, Director of the City of Dublin Education and Training Board's Curriculum Development Unit, and Trish Groves, Trócaire's competition organiser.

 Link here 

£5,000 Troubadour International Poetry Prize 2016

judged by jane yeh & glyn maxwell - not too shabby!

prizes: 1st £5,000; 2nd £1,000; 3rd £500
first prize sponsored by cegin productions

plus 20 prizes of £25 each 
plus an autumn 2016 coffee-house-poetry season-ticket
plus a prize-winners’ coffee-house poetry reading
with jane yeh & glyn maxwell
on mon 31 oct 2016
…for all prize-winning poets

submissions, via e-mail or post, by tue 21 jun 2016

always a good idea to check out the 2015 winners list, winning poems & judges’ report on their poems page.

Poems must be in English, must each be no longer than 45 lines, 

Fees: All entries must be accompanied by submission fees of £5/€6/$8 per poem (Sterling/Euro/US-Dollars only); 

Link here

Penny Dreadful Submissions

Now open for submissions.

Submit your work but clicking on one of the categories below.

Stories (Up to 2 of up to 3000 words each)

Poetry (6 of whatever length you like as long as you don’t take the piss. Note: Please include all submitted poems in the same file, or they may not be considered for publication)

With your entry, please include a short bio (100 words max) and any internet website linking things which are suitable for good, Christian eye-balls.

What we do want: Ball-grabbing, punch-in-the-face writing from nice, courteous ladies and gents.

What we do not want: Funny fonts.

Deadline: March 12th 2016

As always, please support small magazines by buying a copy first, if you possibly can. You can purchase a copy of our fine periodical here.

Michael Hartnett Poetry Award 2016

Applications are currently being invited for the Michael Hartnett Poetry Award 2016, an annual scheme marking Newcastle West native Michael Hartnett’s contribution to literature in English and Irish. The 15th annual award is jointly funded by the Arts Office of Limerick City and County Council and The Arts Council.

Each year the award alternates between Irish and English and this year the €4,000 annual prize will be presented to the author of a third book of English language poetry, or subsequent book of poetry, published during 2014 or 2015.

This year’s adjudicators are poet Rita Ann Higgins and Gerard Smyth, Poetry Editor with the Irish Times.

The winning poet will be presented with the Michael Hartnett Annual Poetry Award on the opening night, Thursday April 14^th 2016 of Éigse Michael Hartnett Literary & Arts Festival, Newcastle West, Co. Limerick.

Deadline: Friday 19 February 2016.

Click to Download:
Michael Hartnett Poetry Award 2016 - Application Form 
Michael Hartnett Poetry Award 2016 - Conditions

The  Cork International Poetry Festival is a fantastic poetry festival we should all be proud of. I'm gutted that I'm going to have to miss it this year but if you have a chance, get yourself to Cork for at least part of 10th to 13th February and gorge yourself on all things poetry from soup to amuse bouche through meat and two veg to exotic fruits.

And if you book before 7th Feb online here it's only €70 for the whole lot. Bargain!

So who could you see?

• the Itinerant Poetry Librarian,
• various showcases with a mix of readers
• Paul Casey & Doireann Ní Ghríofa (recommended)
• Thomas Lynch & Aidan Murphy
• Joseph Horgan & Afric McGlinchey
• Sarah Hayden & Rachel Warriner
• Ailbhe Darcy & Caitríona O'Reilly
• Gerry Murphy & Tom Pickard
• David O'Meara & Matthew Sweeney
• John Fitzgerald & John Mee
• Michael Coady & John McAuliffe
• Tomica Bajsić & Gerard Smyth
• Vona Groarke & Paisley Rekdal
• Kyle Dargan & Deryn Rees-Jones
• Moya Cannon & Bronwyn Lea (recommended)

and many more. Info and all that here

There are also a few places still available on the week long workshop, if you are able to make that kind of time commitment.

Stinging Fly Submissions - Fear & Fantasy

Winter 2016 issue - Fear & Fantasy

The Winter 2016 issue has a special theme and it will be guest-edited by Mia Gallagher.

Submissions for this issue are now being accepted. The last day to post your submission is Friday, February 5th 2016. All submissions that are postmarked on or before this date will be considered.

Link to a note from the ‘Fear & Fantasy’ issue guest editor:

As well as fiction, they are looking for poems and essays – any piece of text that resonates with the theme. They welcome essays from people working outside literature or lit criticism – history, psychology, biochemistry, philosophy, geophysics, forensics etc.

The postal address for submissions is: The Stinging Fly, PO Box 6016, Dublin 1, Ireland.
More details on the link above.

In each issue they also do a Featured Poet, publishing a number of poems by a poet who is working towards a first collection. To be considered, send 6-10 previously unpublished poems. If they want to see more, they will get back to you. If submitting for this slot, do not make a separate poetry submission.

Publisher: Declan Meade
Editor: Thomas Morris
Poetry Editor: Eabhan Ní Shúileabháin
Eagarthóir filíochta Gaeilge: Aifric Mac Aodha
Contributing Editors: Emily Firetog, Dave Lordan, and Sean O'Reilly