Lunchtime Readings at The Irish Writers' Centre - Susan Connolly

This coming Friday at 1 pm you can catch Susan Connolly in The Irish Writers' Centre where she will read poetry.  The event is in association with Poetry Ireland.  I won't make it but if you can be there then you will be in for a treat as Susan is a wonderful writer.  I think she is one of my favourite Irish poets.  She read at The Boyne Readings in Trim (which incidentally I kind of miss, hopefully they will return in the new year) and she has a poem published in Boyne Berries 10.  Susan has many lovely poems about life, relationships, ancient Ireland, her native places and the beauty of the countryside.  Yes I am a fan!! Go and buy one of her collections ( For the Stranger, Winterlight, Forest Music) for yourself and you'll see what I mean. 

These are busy times in the literary world.  In fact I have just been thinking that I haven't taken my foot from the floor all year in regards to writing.  This week Kate Dempsey will read Some Poems from The Moth editions in Maynooth Contemporary Arts Centre at 7.30 pm.  On Thursday night there is an event in The Irish Writers' Centre celebrating  Frank X. Buckley.  I have been invited as I entered a competition to write some poems based on the paintings in the Irish Writers' Centre.  It looks like it will be a fabulous event.  I don't know if I will be able to attend Kate's reading or the latter as I am in work all this week until 6 o'clock.  The winners of the Frank X. Buckley Competition are Elizabeth O'Carroll, Paddy Doherty, Susan Stairs, Eleanor Hooker, Eoin Hegarty and Patricia Clark.

Poetry in Motion/Viaduct Bards Open Mic and Readings

Anti-clockwise Susan Connolly, Paul Kerr, Eamon Cooke, Michael Farry, James Linnane

James Linnane, Michael Farry, Paul Kerr, Eamon Cooke and I represented the Boyne Writers tonight in Drogheda as special guests of the Viaduct Bards.  The event took place in the Drogheda Arts Centre, Stockwell Street.  It was an intimate gathering with some great work being read  followed by warm discussion of poetry.  The group had been invited by Emer Davis who has just published her collection Kill Your Television.  I read four poems but I felt unworthy among such good poets.

At the beginning of the night I met Bernadette Martin whom I had known from New Poems of Oriel.  Its editor Mary Kearns had brought Bernadette, Brid McDonnell, Conor Duffy and I together perhaps five years ago.  Also in attendance was the lovely and talented Susan Connolly.  Her collection Forest Music was published by Shearsman in 2009.  En route to the venue we had discussed Francis Ledwidge as we were passing by Slane.  Connolly has a poem about Ledwidge in Forest Music.  There are some very visual poems in this collection and I am delighed to see an illustration of and a poem about The Five Roads at Tara in it.

Viaduct Bards