Orbis #159

My poem "In the Shadow of Wings" is included in Orbis. I submitted it a few months ago to Carole Baldock, the editor, who suggested some small changes and offered advice before accepting it for publication. Thanks to her! I love the magazine and it opens a window to the wider world of poetry in the UK for me.

At the moment I'm working on my chapbook for the Boyne Readings. Tommy Murray read very well at the last open mic and I have a copy of his collection which I admire. I also have Michael Farry's collection. The launch of which was quite exceptional. I was literally awestricken by the amount of poets in the house!!!

Asking for Directions

Michael Farry's debut poetry collection "Asking for Directions" will be launched tonight at 8 pm in The Castle Arch Hotel, Trim, Co. Meath. It will be published by Doghouse.

Arrive early to get a seat. Copies will be available to purchase. Congratulations to Michael who is always a generous, erudite and astute mentor to all in The Boyne Writers. I'm looking forward to reading this book. It looks like a lovely warm May day is ahead and this will end it perfectly.

Michael is a founding member and the secretary of Boyne Writers' Group, and the editor of Boyne Berries Magazine. Recently he has been published in The SHOp and Revival. He won 3rd place in the Prole Laureate Poetry competition. Last year he was selected for Poetry Ireland Introductions Series.
He will also publish a history book, Sligo, 1912-1923 with Four Courts Press later this year.

Boyne Readings and Open Mic Tommy Murray

Tommy Murray will be the featured reader at May's Boyne Readings and Open Mic. The event will take place next Thursday, 17th May at 8pm in The Knightsbridge Retirement Village Coffee Shop. An open mic session will follow and all are welcome to attend and read if they choose. Admission is 5 euro and tea and coffee will be provided.

A native of Trim, Co. Meath he is the leader of The Meath Writers' Circle which was founded in 1992. They meet on the first Thursday of every month in Trim Castle Hotel. Tommy has written 12 books including "With the Boyne Through Trim", "Stella's Cottage" and "Where was Wellington Born?" He has collected 40 awards for literature including The Poet of Fingal Trophy and the Nora Fahy prize.

Tommy Murray has been widely published, in Crannog, Boyne Berries, Revival, The Stony Thursday Book and Outburst to name just a few. He is deeply involved in the history, folklore and culture of Meath and its environs. His poetry appeared in the UTV documentary "Valley of the Kings".

Tommy is no stranger to The Boyne Writers' Group and he wrote a foreword for our magazine Boyne Berries on its first outing. On this occasion he will read from his new poetry collection "Swimming with Dolphins" which is being published by lapwing. It will be officially launched in Navan Library at 7pm on Thursday 24th May. Tommy published "Counting Stained Glass Windows" with lapwing also in 2009.

The Festival of the Fires

This festival has to be experienced for yourself. It really captures some of the magic of a bygone age. The people organising it did a great job and the people of Mullingar were gracious and courteous. Some photos below. They include The Poetry Divas, the festival head, The Green Man, and of course, fire!!

Festival of Fires

I'm off to the festival of fires tomorrow. It's a musical and cultural event celebrating Bealtaine which is held on the ancient hill of Uisneach, located between Athlone and Mullingar, near the village of Ballymore in Westmeath. I'm hoping it won't rain and if it does that it won't be torrential.

The Hothouse Flowers, Kila and Bressie are topping the bill music wise. I hope to catch The Poetry Divas there. They're reading at 2pm and 6pm on Natasha's Living Food Stage and The Spoken Word Stage. I'm not sure what to expect of the festival to be honest but I'll be back to blog about it. I have the wellies on standby.

May Day

Bealtaine is here, not very fiery yet but we are being washed clean. Rain all morning and it makes me glad to be indoors. I'm on my break and had shredded wheat.

"April is the cruelest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with Spring rain."

T.S. Eliot, The Waste Land

The painting below is called Queen Guinevre's Maying, by the artist John Maler Collier. She looks very Marian in this picture. "Marian", did I use the word correctly, makes me suspect secret things, sub rosa.