Readings at the Hunt Museum

Lunchtime Poetry Readings at The Hunt Museum

The Limerick Writers Centre presents a series of lunchtime poetry readings at the Hunt Museum, Limerick.

Eight poets (2 per week) will give a reading in the Captain's Room every Thursday in July from 1.00 to 2.00 pm. Each reading will be introduced with a piece of classical music.

The programme for July is:

• 4th July - Peadar Clancy & Mary Ellen Fean
• 11th July - Vivienne McKechnie & Jim Burke
• 18th July - Mary Shanahan & Tom McCarthy
• 25th July - Tim Cunningham & Richard Halpern

Further details are available on the Limerick Writers Centre website.

Interview with Niamh Boyce

Niamh Boyce's first novel The Herbalist, was the winner of the inaugural Novel Fair at the Irish Writers Centre in 2012. Since then she has been working very hard on whipping it into shape with her publisher, Penguin Ireland. I was lucky enough to get a review copy and my nose was stuck in it for a long weekend recently. Set in 1930's Ireland, it is packed full of great characters and fascinating stories. Do yourself a favour and get a copy to see what all the fuss is about. Here's an interview on some of the burning questions I had on the book's journey to publication.

Welcome Niamh, to emergingwriter. Congratulations on your novel. You have 4 women narrators who are quite distinctive. I am particularly fond of Emily. How did you keep their individual voices and attitudes?
The women were so different in circumstance, age and attitude that their voices felt very distinct from early on in the process. I wrote them exaclty as I heard them – but  did vary the point of view. Emily, who was a real chatterbox, narrates from the first person; which is the most intimate. And Carmel and Sarah were written from the third person. It was no effort really to keep their voices distinct- they're at such very different stages in their lives and have very different attitudes towards life, love and the Herbalist.

The women in your novel are to a certain extent, defined by their clothes. How would you recommend any emerging writers consider this for their own characters?
It depends on the character really. Many might not notice clothes at all. For someone like Emily however, with her love of Hollywood glamour and silks, satins and furs - clothes become very important. They symbolise the kind of woman she wishes to be. 
Clothes can be very evocative, a child's shoe can evoke loss, a leather belt can evoke terror.  When I facilitate writing workshops, I often use small items to help writers to create with characters. Lipstick has worked very well in the past, often bringing up stories of betrayal, murder and lust, as well as some touching personal memories. A hat can represent a part of someone’s personality they usually keep hidden, there are endless ways to work with characterisation through clothes, it’s a very rich area, and very enjoyable.

Your novel won the novel fair in 2012. What did your agent and publisher recommend you change between then and the final draft?
My novel fair entry was a condensed version of my original manuscript, so the first thing I did was work back in those scenes I had cut for clarity in the fever coming up to the novel fair! The next stage was working with a calendar, an excellent recommendation from my publisher. I printed out a calendar from the year of the novel, one for each character. That way I knew where everyone was on any given day. It was very helpful; I’d recommend it to anyone writing a novel.

Niamh blogs here and you can see the Amazon link for The Herbalist here, or better still, buya copy in your local independent book shop.

Other blog tour links are:
6th June

June Caldwell of the Irish Writers Centre

13th June

Alison Wells at Head Above Water

20th June

Theresa Milstein at Theresa's Tales Of Teaching Tribulations And Typing Teen Texts

24 Little Hours

A 24 hour participatory poetry and prose programme with Grace Wells, Mark Roper, Dave Lordan & Mia Gallagher

Grace, Mark, Dave and Mia, four leading writers from Ireland's contemporary literary scene, will come to Clonmel for 24 hours. During their stay in town, they will share their skills and experience with emerging writers and poetry enthusiasts, perform their work at set readings, and walk and explore the streets of Clonmel with workshop participants, giving insights into how a writer goes about their work, and develops their skills of observation and composition.

With workshop sessions taking place in locations throughout the town and over the 24 hours, the participants will see the urban landscape as it changes colour from busy shopping streets through the hubbub of Saturday night and into the quiet of Sunday morning.

On Sunday afternoon there will be an open-mic session at which the participants will have the opportunity to share some of the work they created during the Twenty-four little hours.

To be part of 24 Little Hours you can fill out our application form here.

Where: Venue: Festival Box Office Upstairs, Clonmel
Fee: €35

24 Little Hours timetable:

Saturday July 6th
1.30pm : Gathering and Introductions
2.00- 4.00pm: Walking, Talking and Writing with Grace or Mark
4.30-5.30pm : Selected readings by Grace and Mark
5.30 onwards: Dinner at the Junction Festival Catering tent
7.30-8.30pm : Selected readings by Mia and Dave
9.00- 11.00pm: Walking,Talking and Writing  with Mia or Dave

Sunday July 7th
11.00am-1.00pm: Walking, Talking and Writing with Grace, Mark, Mia or Dave
2.30pm: “What a Difference a day makes” Open-mic with Grace, Mark, Mia, Dave and the programme participants.

Purchase tickets online here.

Hay at Kells

The program for the inaugural Hay festival at Kells is packed but not many appeal to me personally. I've always wanted to go to the festival in Hay-on-Wye so I'm a bit disappointed, to be honest.

Here are some that look worth catching

Friday 28th June
EIRGRID STAGE
€4
Owen Sheers Pink Mist – Reading followed by Q&A
A reading from this verse drama originally broadcast over a week on Radio 4. Three school friends return from Afghanistan to face the consequences of their tours, for them and the women in their lives. Drawn from interviews with wounded veterans, Pink Mist is a lyric narrative of rare dramatic and emotional intensity.
Q&A chaired by Peter Stanford.

8.30PM
EIRGRID STAGE
€8
Jeanette Winterson
The Biggest Book Club In Ireland
The author of Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit, The Daylight Gate and The Passion introduces her fabulous memoir Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal.

Saturday 29th June
9PM
THE RAILWAY BAR
FREE BUT TICKETED
Poetry At The Railway Bar
An evening of poetry and entertainment featuring Gerry Stembridge, Myles Dungan, Nerys Williams and Sean Rocks, presenter of Arena on RTÉ Radio 1, with music from Maidhc Dainín Ó Sé

Sunday 30th June
12.30PM
BRESLIN STAGE
€5
Karlin Lillington, John Maher and John Kampfner
Blog And Be Damned: Social Media And Libel In Ireland
What constitutes fair comment, as opposed to defamation, on social media and should the standard be the same as for traditional media?
Is the freedom inherent in social media threatened by the chilling effect of potential claims for libel?
To what extent should tweeters and bloggers be as aware of the dangers of libel as are professional journalists?
Karlin Lillington of The Irish Times, barrister John Maher, and Google’s John Kampfner discuss with Myles Dungan

2PM
EIRGRID STAGE
€6
DBC Pierre
The Booker Prize-winning author makes a rare public appearance to discuss his life and work with Sean Rocks, presenter of Arena on RTÉ Radio 1

2PM
CHURCH OF IRELAND
€4
Peter Fallon and Vona Groarke
Poet, editor and publisher, founder of The Gallery Press, Peter Fallon reads poems from his published works alongside award- winning poet Vona Groarke, whose collections include Spindrift, Juniper Street and Flight.

and yer man from the Great British Bakeoff (a secret pleasure of mine)
3.30PM
EIRGRID STAGE
€5
Brendan Lynch
Kells native Brendan, a finalist in 2012’s Great British Bake Off, has been passionate about baking for 30 years. Join him as he demonstrates some of the skills that took him to the final and talks to Fáilte Ireland Food Champion Olivia Duff about his plans to take baking into retirement homes.

5PM
EIRGRID STAGE
€6
John Boyne
This House Is Haunted
The author of The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas and The Absolutist introduces his new novel. Eliza Caine arrives in Norfolk to take up her position as governess at Gaudlin Hall on a dark and chilling night... He talks to Sean Rocks, presenter of Arena on RTÉ Radio 1.

Also Victorian Afternoon Tea
FRIDAY, SATURDAY & SUNDAY 28–30 JUNE,
2PM–6PM
EDMUND RICE CENTRE
Kells Arts Club are hosting an afternoon tea with literature, poetry and song

Concrete Poems

I've been researching concrete poems recently.

The definition is something like poems in which the layout is as important in conveying the intended effect as the conventional elements of the poem, such as the words, rhythm, rhyme and so on.

Dom Sylvester Houedard is a name that came up. See what he does with words

and how about this clever piece from Nicola Simpson

But there's needs to be something more to it than cleverness. It has to say something with both the words and the shape working together.

or this one

iYeats Poetry Competition 2013

The iYeats Poetry Competition, now in its fifth year has become one of the most highly-regarded in the country, attracting hundreds of entries from across Ireland and abroad. An online, national and international competition, there are 2 categories; 

• General
• Emerging Talent for poets between the ages of 16 and 25. 

Judges:  Katie Donovan and James Harpur

 

2013 PRIZES

First Prize €500
Emerging Prize €300
Commended X2 €50

All winning poets will have their entries published on the Hawk’s Well Theatre Website and will be offered the chance to read their work at Aloud an intimate evening of original poetry from our eminent past judges and the 2013 winners. This ceremony will take place during the 2013 Yeats International Summer School.

 

Deadline: Wednesday 9th July, 2013

Winners will be notified by Friday 22nd July, 2013

Results Publicly Announced: Wednesday 3rd August, 2013

Prize-giving ceremony ‘Aloud’: Wednesday 3rd August, 2013, 8pm.

You can view last year's winning poems here.

Link here  for more details

Fourth Japan-EU English Haiku Contest

The Embassy of Japan is pleased to inform you of the Fourth Japan-EU English Haiku Contest, organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and the Delegation of the European Union to Japan, and sponsored by Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture, Japan and the Flemish Haiku Centre, Belgium.

523 haiku poets submitted entries on the theme "Dawn" for last year's third contest. For this year's contest, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and the EU Delegation to Japan are pleased to call on contestants to share their haiku related to the theme of “Rainbow”.

The organisers have set up a Fan Page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/haikucontest) and selected haiku will be uploaded. The aim of the contest is to deepen the relationship between Japan and the EU and encourage people to enjoy both writing and reading English haiku.

• The deadline for applications is Thursday, 1 August 2013 (2.00am, Brussels time).
• Applications should be submitted by e-mail to japaneuhaiku-contest@mofa.go.jp using the official entry form available to download from the Embassy’s website www.ie.emb-japan.go.jp or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website http://www.mofa.go.jp/press/release/press6e_000109.html. Only one original and previously unpublished haiku may be submitted per applicant (please see the attached guidelines for detailed information on the format of the haiku).
• The contest is open to the nationals of EU member states (including Croatia) and Japan who are currently residing in the EU (including Croatia) or Japan. It is open to all ages.
• One winner each from Japan and the EU will be announced in due course. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will offer the winner from the EU a round-trip to Matsuyama City, the birthplace of modern haiku in Japan. The EU Delegation to Japan will invite the winner from Japan to Belgium, the home country of European Council President H.E. Mr. Herman Van Rompuy who loves haiku and is an active haikuist himself. The contest winners will be notified by e-mail and given further details of the round-trip prize. Please note that related expenses covered by the organisers have certain limitations.
• Enquiries should be sent by e-mail only to the European Policy Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs: japaneuhaiku-contest@mofa.go.jp
• You will find the detailed Guidelines for Submission and official entry form on the Embassy’s website www.ie.emb-japan.go.jp and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website http://www.mofa.go.jp/press/release/press6e_000109.html