Poetry in the National Gallery

(Not so well advertised so give them your support.)

National Gallery Lunchtime Readings | Celia de Fréine
Wednesday 21 July @ 1.05pm

Poetry Ireland in association with the National Gallery of Ireland presents a lunchtime reading with Celia de Fréine.

Wednesday 28 July @ 1.05pm

Poetry Ireland in association with the National Gallery of Ireland presents a lunchtime reading with Theo Dorgan.

National Gallery of Ireland, Merrion Square West, D2


I went last week. Mary O'Malley. No notices at the entrances for drop ins. Mad.
I'm not going this week if it's raining as I'll be on a Dublin Bike

Creative Writing in the National Gallery

This Wednesday 10th September at 3pm, get down to the National Gallery for a workshop as part of the 'Arts for All Ages' programme they run for free. Responding to Art in ROom 42 - the lovely Caravaggio Room. Now there's a great role model for a troubled artist. He burst onto the Roman arts scene about 1600, lived hard and fast and had to run away from the city when he killed someone in a brawl about a game. He died young of a fever, just days before a papal pardon came through for him. Anyway this workshop will get your creative juices flowing responding to his painting and other painters influenced by him.
As advertised in the Dublin Event Guide , a weekly email about free events in and around Dublin.
The National Gallery do lots of free events, paid for in your taxes, so make the most of it. Check our their website. IMMA also does quite a few. But both have a long way to go before they match the events put on in the main London or Edinburgh galleries and museums.

More Readings at the National Gallery in Dublin

Poetry Ireland are organising lucnhtime readings at the National Gallery. See here for more information on the readings and the poets including listening to the poets read their own work. I like it when multimedia adds to the blogging/surfing experience.

Gerard Smyth- 23 July
Harry Clifton - 30 July

The readings will be held from 1pm in the Portrait Gallery, Room 21, National Gallery of Ireland, Merrion Sq, Dublin 2.

There is a wonderful sounding Impressionists exhibition on in the National Gallery now until August 10th - 46 wonderful paintings and drawings by Manet, Monet, Renoir, Degas, Cassatt, Gauguin and more. If the National Gallery would like to give me tickets, I'd be delighted to accept...10 Euro full price.

They also do workshops for children and for adults, mostly art and appreciation but I'll be teaching a lunchtime writing workshop in September so do come along.

Updates

Well, another (nice) rejection from Simon and Schuster. Two more before the next round. Fingers crossed we won't need it. I have been reading up on rejections. I'll post later.

Got a rejection from BBC Northern Ireland for the Tony Doyle Award for New television writers. I suppose it was a stretch but I am very fond of my story. It will have to find a different home and perhaps form.

Read this and weep or laugh, the truth about the slush pile.
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/books/2007/05/the_shocking_truth_about_the_s.html
Particularly some of the comments below. Publishers run a business. 90-95% of what they receive is completely unpublishable - which is good for people who produce publishable work - and it takes time and effort even to post out a form letter. I know I appreciate any feedback at all, however hard hitting but the urge to respond is tough to control. So feedback is rare and unusual. The number of acceptances from the slushpile is sobering. Having an agent speeds the process up but doesn't that just move the slushpile from the publishers' offices to the agents'?

The National Gallery class went great. Enthusiastic feedback. Hope they have me back.

Got a text from movieextras about availability but nothing happened beyond that.

Creative Writing in the National Gallery

I am teaching a creative writing class in the National Gallery in Dublin this Wednesday 11th July at 2pm. This is part of the Art for all ages scheme. Anyone can show up. No booking required. No experience required either. The idea is to use some of the fantastic Dutch interior painting there to spark a piece of creative writing, poetry or prose. I hope this is the start of a long relationship. I love the National Gallery and IMMA and the Hugh Lane Dublin City Gallery. I do get inspiration from art.

I got the idea from the Tate Britain who run all sorts of interesting classes. Paul Muldoon has written a book of poetry inspired by the paintings at the National Gallery in London. Lots of writers have been commissioned to write poetry and short stories inspired by paintings and sculptures, particularly by the BBC. Perhaps I could talk to RTE. Apparently writing connected with Visual Art is called Ekphrasis.