How's the weather where you are?

I would like to be able to write with the sheer joy of this

General

Hi,

I'm on my holidays for a week or so, getting some writing done, I hope, so no posts from me. If you're starved of writing related reading, check out the other blogs froma couple of posts ago.

Coming in July, posts on more UK magazines and yet more grants from the Arts Council but not for me

EW

Castleknock festival

A couple of highlights.

26 June 2008
9 p.m.
Launch of Chapelizod Community Festival 2008
Reading by
Dermot Bolger
St. Laurence’s Church
€5

28 June 2008
Music and Words
9 p.m.
Ben Dwyer (Classical Guitar) & Christine Dwyer-Hickey (Author)
St Laurence’s Church
€15

30 June 2008
7 p.m.
Reading by
Pat Boran & Mark Granier
Park Lane Gate, Phoenix Park
€5

2 July 2008
7 p.m.
Reading by
Kevin Barry & Nuala Ní Chonchúir
Park Lane Gate, Phoenix Park
€5

4 July 2008
7 p.m.
Reading
Conor Kostick
Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Park Lane Gate, Phoenix Park
€5

Anything you wanted to know about Yeats and were too afraid to ask

Summer’s Wreath 08 :
A celebration of William Butler Yeats is a two-week long programme of free events at the National Library of Ireland. Running in conjunction with the Library’s award-winning Yeats : the Life and Works of WB Yeats exhibition it offers a varied programme including readings, reflections and discussion featuring a selection of well known writers, filmmakers, actors and poets. Events include:

Poet on Poet: Panel discussion
Tuesday 24 June, 8pm :
Panel discussion with Vincent Woods (chair) - Presenter, The Arts Show, RTÉ 1; Ian Duhig, poet (England); Dr Carrie Etter, poet and academic (USA); Matthew Sweeney, poet (Ireland).
Was Yeats the most influential poet of the 20th century? Three poets from different cultural backgrounds, yet each influenced by Yeats, discuss Yeats' influence on their own work, his impact on 20th century literature generally and poetry in particular. This event will be broadcast on The Arts Show, RTÉ Radio 1.

Yeats: One day immersion course
Thursday 26 June, 9.30 - 6pm : A one-day immersion course on Yeats for the enthusiastic amateur and lovers of poetry and literature in general. It will give participants a real understanding and overview of WB Yeats and his work. Focussing on Yeats' poetry and drama, the day will consist of lectures, film screenings and a guided tour of Yeats by our exhibition staff.

Places for both events are limited so call now: (01) 6030277

Full Summer’s Wreath programme on the National Library website

Writing Exercise

Take a poem and translate it on the wonderful and free babel into a language of your choice. Then translate it back again. Repeat at will. Use the result as inspiration for an original poem of your own.

Dutch
I ran solitarily as a cloud
which on high oerdal and hillock
when I everything float turn in an one mob saw,
a host of golden daffodils.
Beside the lake, under the tree
dancing that and in wind agitation

Japanese
I as a cloud when loneliness
suddenly me whom you wandered about
meeting to crowd float with the valley and the hill of the high oer,
gold [ratsupasuisen] it is many.
Side of Kinosita's lake which the [bi]
comes with the breeze, dances,

Korean
I when seeing the multitude,
was lonely in the cloud
which will float from the top price
oer valley and the hill
and in order to go out the immediate
a golden trumpet narcissus majority, was.
On the tree lower part which is useless
from side of the breeze and the lake from virtue distance the ladle,

Russian
I wandered lonely in proportion to cloud
t it floats to the maximum [of veyl] and the hill of oer
when immediately I it saw crowd,
the owner of golden daffodils.
Near the lake, under the shafts
fluttering and dancing in the breeze

More blogs and other websites

More blogs worth a visit if you're procrastinating...or looking for diversion:

A website devoted to the Ampersand.

Baroque in Hackney the Salt poet has moved.

Big Window shows some fascinating art work and talks about poetry.

Bookends is the blog of a literary agent with lots of useful thoughts and advice.

Bookwitch is an excellent reader with a penchant for crime (in books)

Charles Bernstein Writing Experiments

Daisy Fried's Writing Exercises.

Darragh Doyle writes a blog of warm stories.

Dead Drunk Dublin publishes a mixed bag of writing.

Delusions of Grandeur lives a life of love and rockets. Reference Los Bros Hernandez.

Don't eat with your mouth open blogs about living and working in London.

Doug Rose website is about tiles on the London Underground. Yes, really.

English Mum in Ireland is worth a dip.

Going Underground is stories from the Tube. Lots of inspiration there.

Those madly witty graphs


Is this you reminds me of the film Amelie and the photobooths.

Postsecrets is where people post secrets anonymously.

The Unbearable Lightness of Banishment moans just a wee bit in NJ.

Writerjenn writes interesting pieces about writing.

Filter Judges

This is interesting from the Acumen magazine website

Many competition use filters so the high profile judges don't need to go into poetry overload reading every last poem about Kitty's Demise or The Day My Mother Died or My First Day at School (See Roger McGough, A million-billion-willion miles from home...) or the Fading Tulip.

Of course it depends how good the eye is of the filter judge and what percentage they have to filter to.

What Acumen complains about is that it is not always stated that filter judges are used or who they are.

POETRY COMPETITIONS:

The Bridport poetry competition organiser states:

'Our final filter judges are Jon Wyatt for short stories and Candy Neubert for poems, we have not hidden this information. There are several more readers who do the initial sifting. It would be unfair to list them - already our filter judges are given a difficult time by some writers. This is why we do not give out names on general enquiries.'
I am confident that our judging system is fair and professional.

The following competitions have judges who read all the entries or which state exactly how the winners are chosen (and by whom):

TROUBADOUR POETRY PRIZE
TORBAY OPEN POETRY COMPETITION
PETERLOO COMPETITION
WARE POETRY OPEN COMPETITION
VER POETS OPEN COMPETITION
FROGMORE PRIZE
YORKSHIRE OPEN POETRY COMPETITION
KENT and SUSSEX POETRY SOCIETY COMPETITION
LEDBURY POETRY COMPETITION
JOSHUA FOUNDATION POETRY COMPETITION

Blinking Eye and Poetry Business filter in house.
The Poetry Business sending only 20 to the external judge out of 500/700 entries. I'm not sure I would want to condone that level of filtering.


What about the Irish competitions?

The Sean O'Faolain Short Story Prize judge, Nuala Ní Chonchúir reads every entry (so send in early)

Fish writing competitions are filtered but they don't say how heavily. As are the RTE competitions, Francis MacManus and P.J O'Connor.

What about Over the Edge. The judge is Celeste Augé but are they filtered?
Strokestown, Patrick Kavanagh Award, Feile Filiochta and Padraig Fallon have named judges but don't say one way or the other.

I think it would be a good idea for all competitions to state if they use filter judges and how much they filter. Any comments?