Readings at the National Gallery Dublin

Wednesday lunchtimes in the National Gallery, Poetry Ireland is wheeling out some names. I've missed the first one but here's the rest:

15th May Mary O'Donnell
22nd May Michael Kruger (new to me)
29th May Peter Sirr

Time:1.05
It's usually well hidden, no signage so ask at the desk.

Wigtown Poetry Competition

The Wigtown Poetry Competition is Scotland’s most prestigious poetry prize. Fees are quite steep though.

Winning poets will be invited to appear at the Wigtown Book Festival in 2013.

The winners, the runner-up and 8 commended poems will be published in Southlight, the Dumfries and Galloway Literary magazine.

Deadline: 5pm Friday 31st May 2013 

Judges: Robin Robertson, Meg Bateman and Liz Niven

Link here

1st Prize £2000
Runner-up £400
8 runners up £25

Top Prize money has decreased but there are small additional prizes now.

Between Ribs and Figs Reading

I am delighted to be reading at this very tasty gathering this Sunday in Ranalagh, starting at 1:30pm. Organised by The Ash Sessions, it will be a great afternoon of poetry and music.

Dimitri X, the organiser says

“…men contain feminine characteristics just as much as women contain masculine ones […]. But I also think we should respect and maintain the differences between masculine and feminine. Creative energy is partly about the ability to negotiate between the two poles [of the masculine and the feminine]; it’s a current that runs between them.”

Poet Vicki Feaver – from “No More Mrs. Nice” (Magma, No. 13 – Winter 1998)

The Ash Sessions is pleased to present the “Between Ribs & Figs” Reading & Music Series. The title of the series is a nod to that current of energy that runs between the two poles referred to by Feaver – with the rib representing the masculine pole of creation, and the fig, a symbol of the female sex, the feminine pole. The series, presented in two parts will showcase poets and musicians whose creative energy has produced work that reflects the way in which each engage and negotiate with the current of energy that runs between the poles of the ‘rib’ and the ‘fig’, producing work that is vibrant, and work that vibrates.

Part I of the series will feature performances by:

TEMPER-MENTAL MISS-ELAYNEOUS
ELAINE FEENEY
KERRIE O'BRIEN
I AM NIAMH
KATE DEMPSEY
SARAH ELAINE
ERIN FORNOFF
SINEAD WHITE
LAURA CLEARY

There will be duende in the coffee cups, and duende on the streets of Ranelagh. Please come along and grab your piece of it. It will be a stunning afternoon of poetry, spoken word and music. Part II of the series will be held in September/October 2013.

So - mark May 12th in your calendars. All thriller. No filler. Bring your sweet as(s)hes down, starting at 1:30pm – show will start at 2pm on the dot.

Keep on burning well,
The Ash Sessions

*

“Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man”
– Genesis 2:22

“If your heart is in your mouth,
sear it, eat it with figs”
– Michelle Mcgrane, “Thirteen Ways with Figs”

Bridport Prize

This is one of the most prestigious writing contests in the British literary calendar.

Do you have a really good poem or short story? Or a few? I mean, really really REALLY good?

poem - no more than 42 lines
short story - no more than 5,000 words.   
flash fiction category - stories of up to 250 words 

This year’s judges are Liz Lochhead (poems) Tania Hershman (flash fiction) and Andrew Miller (short stories).

    Closing: 31st May 14 (postmarked)

    Prizes: In each of the main categories (Short Stories, Poems) - £5,000, £1,000, £500.  There are also ten runners-up prizes of £50.  These are called ‘supplementary prizes’ to make you feel less like an also-ran.  The top four poems will be submitted to the Forward Prize. 
Prizes in the Flash Fiction category are £1,000, £500, £250, plus three supplementary awards of £25.
The top 13 short stories will be entered for the National Short Story Prize worth £15,000, and the Sunday Times Short Story Award worth £30,000.  
There's also a prize for the highest placed piece from a writer in Dorset. 
All winners will be invited to an awards ceremony on October 14th at the Bridport Open Book Festival.
 
The judges have some pointers here well worth reading.

Note: Entries must never have been published, self-published, published on any website, blog or online forum, broadcast nor winning or placed (as in 2^nd, 3^rd,, runner up etc) in any other competition.

    Entry Fees:Poems - £7.  Short Stories - £8.  Flash Fiction - £6
 
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Links to some of my work available online

Poems
Saturday Woman Poet on Poethead blog has two of my poems here
Amsterdam Otto Recommend poem that won the Plough Prize reading here
Californian Fruit in Burning Bush online magazine here
The Happiest Sock and other poems are in this video from Ignite
Drinking Now poem read at The Festival of The Fires here
Reaching Agreement poem read on YouTube here
Reading some Science Poems at Ignite here
Those Days are Nothing Now on Barehands online magazine here
While It Lasted on writing.ie here 
Two poems on And Other Poems here
What to Think About Instead at ofipress here
By Strawberry Beds from Poetry Bus 3 on Soundcloud here 
Painted Yellow Line from Poetry Bus 2 on Soundcloud here
Slow Poison is in Crannog 10 here-  Update: Actually this pdf doesn't get as far as my poem so you'll have to buy the book!
Developing Shadows is in Abridged 17 here
Appropriate Gift is in Abridged 23 here

Short Story
Saturday's Kiss on This Reading Life blog here

Non Fiction
Berlin Wall from RTE Radio Sunday Miscellany here

Get Immersed in Verse

 One Day Poetry workshop with Enda Coyle-Greene. Saturday 1st June 2013.

Writers' Cafe - Wednesday 9am to 1pm, 7pm to 9pm

W.B. Yeats once wrote, ‘‘A poem comes right with a click like a closing box.” To discover how that can happen, get immersed in verse during an all-day workshop at Carousel Creates Writers' Centre, Dublin. Participants will be engaged in writing exercises designed to be both informative and fun and are invited to bring along a poem with which they would like some gentle, constructive help. 


Explore the line break, find freshness and vitality in language and imagery, and the importance of reading before writing: just some of the elements that go into the making of a successful poem. Participants will be engaged in writing exercises designed to be both informative and fun and are invited to bring along a poem with which they would like some gentle, constructive help. There will also be practical advice on how to present your poems when submitting to magazines and/or competitions.

•  The workshop is suitable for anyone who is writing or wants to write poetry.
•  Numbers will be limited to ensure maximum participation.

The workshop is led by widely published and frequent RTE contributor; poet Enda Coyle-Green. Enda won the Patrick Kavanagh Award in 2006  for  her collection of poetry ‘Snow Negatives’.

Date: Saturday, June 1st 2013, 9am-5pm
Cost: €65.00 (including lunch, coffee)
To Book a Place: contact Carolann Copland at carolann@copland.org.uk
or 086 192 3613 – Website: http://www.carousel-creates.com/

Poets Meet Painters writing competition

The Poets Meet Painters competition 2013 is open for entries.

This also incorporates a new Mill Cove Poetry Award.

As always, this is a competition for poems inspired by works of art exhibited or sponsored by Mill Cove Gallery and Sculpture Garden.

For a sample slideshow click here

Additionally, the highest placed poem inspired by a ceramic work will receive the Mill Cove Poetry Award. If the overall winning poem relates to a ceramic work, the next eligible poem will receive the Mill Cove Poetry Award.

Check eligible illustrations in Irish Ceramics: the best of Irish ceramic sculpture (available for purchase here ).

The competition will be judged by Leanne O'Sullivan.

There will be a first prize of €200, and in addition there will be a Mill Cove Gallery award for a poem inspired by a ceramic work.

Deadline: 17 June 2013

Each poem must not exceed 40 lines
Up to three poems may be submitted per entry.
A fee of €8 per entry is payable via PayPal or cheque

For full details of the competition and how to enter, visit http://hungryhillwriting.com/section682226.html.