Poetry Workshops with Kevin Higgins at Galway Arts Centre

In January Galway Arts Centre is offering aspiring poets a choice of two poetry workshops, both facilitated by poet Kevin Higgins, whose best-selling first collection, The Boy With No Face, published by Salmon Poetry, was short-listed for the 2006 Strong Award for Best First Collection by an Irish poet.


Kevin’s second collection of poems, Time Gentlemen, Please, was published in March by Salmon Poetry and his work will also feature in the forthcoming anthology Identity Parade: new British and Irish Poets (Bloodaxe, 2010) Kevin is an experienced workshop facilitator and several of his students have gone on to achieve publication success or win major prizes for their poetry.

Each workshop will run for ten weeks, commencing the week of January 26th.They will take place on Tuesday evenings, 7-8.30pm; and on Thursday afternoons, 2-3.30pm.

The Tuesday evening workshop is open to both complete beginners as well as those who’ve been writing for some time. The Thursday afternoon workshop is an Advanced Poetry Workshop, suitable for those who’ve participated in poetry workshops before or had poems published in magazines. The cost to participants is €110, with an €100 concession rate.

Places must be paid for in advance. To reserve a place contact Victoria at reception at Galway Arts Centre, 47 Dominick Street, phone 091 565886 or email victoria@galwayartscentre.ie

Greek-Irish Literary Symposium

There is an article about, and photos of, the Greek Irish Literary Symposium, which took place in Athens in December, at http://www.diavasame.gr/news.cfm?itemID=104

The symposium was sponsored by the office of the Mayor of Ilion and by Culture Ireland and was supported by the Irish Embassy in Greece. Copies of the resulting translations of Greek and Irish poets work, Literary Ways 2 Greece Ireland, are available from bookshops in Galway and Dublin.

Creative Writing at Galway Arts Centre with Susan Millar DuMars

This coming January Galway Arts Centre presents a daytime class for all those beginner and continuing creative writing students out there, facilitated by Susan Millar DuMars. Susan Millar DuMars writes both poetry and fiction. A collection of her stories, American Girls, was published by Lapwing Press in 2007; her first collection of poetry, Big Pink Umbrella, was published in April by Salmon Poetry.

This class is suitable for both beginning and continuing creative writing students, working in either poetry or fiction. Students will spend their week responding to writing exercises designed to inspire, rather than inhibit. In class, they will receive gentle feedback on their work from their classmates and from the teacher. The class takes place on Monday afternoons, 2-3.30pm, commencing on Monday January 26th and runs for ten weeks.

The cost to participants is 110 Euro with a 100 Euro concession price. Booking is essential as places are limited. For booking please contact Galway Arts Centre, 47 Dominick Street. Phone 091 565886 or email victoria@galwayartscentre.ie

Creative Writing - Beginners & Intermediate at Galway Technical Institute

Creative Writing for Beginners with Kevin Higgins takes place one evening per week (Monday) from 7-9.30pm. (8 weeks) It commences on Monday, 19th January, 2009. Advance booking is essential. Places cost €115. Kevin Higgins will provide writing exercises for, and give gentle critical feedback to, those interested in trying their hand at writing poems, stories or memoir.

Intermediate Creative Writing with Susan Millar DuMars takes place one evening per week (Tuesday) from 7-9.30pm. (8 weeks) It commences on Tuesday, 20th January, 2009. Advance booking is essential. Places cost €115. This class is suitable for those who’ve participated in creative writing classes before or begun to have work published in magazines. Flexible exercises and work-shopping of assignments, together with the study of the works of published writers, will help each class member to find their own writing voice.

To book a place in either class contact GTI, Father Griffin Road, Galway Telephone 091-581342, e-mail adultedinfo@cgvec.ie or see http://www.gti.ie/

Creative Writing with Susan Millar DuMars at Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology

Susan Millar DuMars will give support, instruction and feedback to those who are interested in writing either fiction (short stories, novels) or poetry. The course takes place one evening per week (Wednesday) for 8 weeks from 7.30–9.30 p.m. It commences on Wednesday, February 11th at Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology.

Susan’s debut poetry collection, Big Pink Umbrella, was published by Salmon Poetry in 2008. A mini-collection of her short stories, American Girls was brought out by Lapwing Press in 2007. Susan has read from her work in Ireland, Britain, the US and Greece. She and her husband organise the Over the Edge readings series in Galway.

Advance booking is essential. Places cost €120.00. For further details or to book a place contact Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, Dublin Road, Galway. Telephone 091 742145 or see http://www.gmit.ie

CREATIVE WRITING NIGHT CLASSES AT GMIT CASTLEBAR WITH JOHN CORLESS

A new course of night classes in Creative Writing will commence in GMIT Castlebar for the spring. The course runs one night a week for twelve weeks and each class lasts two hours. The classes will suit beginners and improvers. This is a practical course with the emphasis on writing. Topics covered will include what to write about, point of view, setting, style, voice, flash fiction, short stories, poetry, dialogue, drama, critique and markets. At the end of the course, students should have an impressive body of work compiled. Many satisfied students have taken this course over the past couple of years. Some have gone on to win prizes and had their work published. The actual night that the classes will be held on has not been finalised yet but will most likely be on Thursdays.

The tutor is John Corless who is a vastly experienced tutor. He has an MA in Creative Writing who performed at the 2008 Electric Picnic. He writes poetry, drama and fiction. He work has been published in Ireland, the UK, Norway, Japan, Canada and the USA. He has won many prizes. His poetry is a mix of political and satirical; one critic described it as 'Paul Durcan meets The Sawdoctors.' His debut poetry collection is due out next year from Salmon. Anyone interested in taking part should book immediately to avoid disappointment. To book a place on the course telephone GMIT on 094 90 25 700. If you want further details on the course please telephone 087 9843900.

GMIT will host an open evening at the Castlebar campus on Mon 19th Jan from 6-8pm.

Creative Writing Classes & Poetry Workshops in The New Year

Galway Technical Institute presents creative writing classes

Creative Writing for Beginners with Kevin Higgins takes place one evening per week (Monday) from 7-9.30pm. (8 weeks) It commences on Monday, 19th January, 2009. Advance booking is essential. Places cost €115. Kevin Higgins will provide writing exercises for, and give gentle critical feedback to, those interested in trying their hand at writing poems, stories or memoir.

Intermediate Creative Writing with Susan Millar DuMars takes place one evening per week (Tuesday) from 7-9.30pm. (8 weeks) It commences on Tuesday, 20th January, 2009. Advance booking is essential. Places cost €115. This class is suitable for those who’ve participated in creative writing classes before or begun to have work published in magazines. Flexible exercises and work-shopping of assignments, together with the study of the works of published writers, will help each class member to find their own writing voice.

To book a place in either class contact GTI, Father Griffin Road, Galway Telephone 091-581342, e-mail adultedinfo@cgvec.ie or see http://www.gti.ie/
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Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology Presents Creative Writing for Beginners with Susan Millar DuMars

The course takes place one evening per week (Wednesday) for 8 weeks from 7.30 p.m. – 9.30 p.m. It commences on Wednesday, February 11th, 2009. Advance booking is essential. Places cost €120.00. During the eight weeks Susan Millar DuMars will give support, instruction and feedback to students who are interested in writing either fiction (short stories, novels) or poetry. For further details or to book a place contact GMIT, Dublin Road, Galway. Telephone 091 742145 or see http://www.gmit.ie/
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Poetry workshops with Kevin Higgins at Galway Arts Centre

In January Galway Arts Centre is offering aspiring poets a choice of two poetry workshops, both facilitated by poet Kevin Higgins, whose best-selling first collection, The Boy With No Face, published by Salmon Poetry, was short-listed for the 2006 Strong Award for Best First Collection by an Irish poet. Kevin’s second collection of poems, Time Gentlemen, Please, was published in March by Salmon Poetry and his work will also feature in the forthcoming anthology Identity Parade: new British and Irish Poets (Bloodaxe, 2010) Kevin is an experienced workshop facilitator and several of his students have gone on to achieve publication success or win major prizes for their poetry.

Each workshop will run for ten week, commencing the week of January 26th. They will take place on Tuesday evenings, 7-8.30pm; and on Thursday afternoons, 2-3.30pm.
The Tuesday evening workshop is open to both complete beginners as well as those who’ve been writing for some time. The Thursday afternoon workshop is an Advanced Poetry Workshop, suitable for those who’ve participated in poetry workshops before or had poems published in magazines. The cost to participants is €110, with an €100 concession rate.

Places must be paid for in advance. To reserve a place contact Victoria at reception at Galway Arts Centre, 47 Dominick Street, phone 091 565886 or email victoria@galwayartscentre.ie
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Creative Writing at Galway Arts Centre with Susan Millar DuMars

This January Galway Arts Centre presents a daytime class for all those beginner and continuing creative writing students out there, facilitated by Susan Millar DuMars. Susan Millar DuMars writes both poetry and fiction. A collection of her stories, American Girls, was published by Lapwing Press in 2007; her first collection of poetry, Big Pink Umbrella, was published in April by Salmon Poetry.

This class is suitable for both beginning and continuing creative writing students, working in either poetry or fiction. Students will spend their week responding to writing exercises designed to inspire, rather than inhibit. In class, they will receive gentle feedback on their work from their classmates and from the teacher. The class takes place on Monday afternoons, 2-3.30pm, commencing on Monday January 26th and runs for ten weeks.

The cost to participants is 110 Euro with a 100 Euro concession price. Booking is essential as places are limited. For booking please contact Galway Arts Centre, 47 Dominick Street. Phone 091 565886 or email victoria@galwayartscentre.ie

Clare Muireann Murphy for final Over The Edge: Open Reading of 2008

Clare Muireann Murphy

The final Over The Edge: Open Reading of the year will take place in Galway City Library, St. Augustine Street, Galway on Thursday, December 18th, 6.30-8pm. The Featured Readers are Paula Gilbert, Denise Heneghan & Clare Muireann Murphy.

Paula Gilbert is originally from Meath but moved to Claremorris, Co. Mayo when she was young. She has always loved writing and would love to write a book of short stories. She has attended John Corless’s Creative Writing Classes at G.M.I.T-Castlebar. She read her story ‘Mad Mooney’ at this year’s Force 12 Writers’ Weekend in Bellmullet. She is secretary of Mayo Writers Block, who won first prize at this year’s National Writers Group Festival in Longford.

Denise Heneghan is a social entrepreneur with a background in technical management and voluntary leadership. She started writing poetry four years ago, and has attended workshops facilitated by Geraldine Mills and Kevin Higgins. She is currently a member of the advanced poetry class at Galway Arts Centre. She has been a finalist at a number of Cúirt and Baffle Poetry Slams. She won third prize at Baffle 2005, and was shortlisted in the 2008 Over The Edge New Writer of the Year competition.

Clare Muireann Murphy is a professional storyteller. She has performed at festivals such as The Electric Picnic, Vienna Lit, Kilkenny Arts Festival, Baboró Children's Festival with Rab Swannock Fulton and Singapore Out of the Box Puppet Festival. Clare played Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in a solo show as part of the Tales for Winter series in November. Her repertoire includes the Irish myths and legends as well as many more tales from world folklore. She founded Story Night, the monthly story share gathering at the Spirit Centre on Nun’s Island. She is an Arts Foundation Fellowship nominee and a winner of the Social Entrepreneurs Award 2007 for her storytelling work.

As usual there will be an open-mic when the Featured Readers have finished. This is open to anyone who has a poem or story to share. New readers are always especially welcome. For further details phone 087-6431748.

Over The Edge acknowledges the financial support of Galway City Council and The Arts Council

Call for Submissions: anthology of immigrant poetry in Ireland

As the editors of an anthology of immigrant poetry in Ireland we are asking poets from other countries who live here and who write in English to send us poems for possible inclusion in the anthology. The term "immigrant" includes people who were born outside Ireland and came to live here (first generation), and those who were born here but have parents, or one parent born elsewhere (second generation).

This anthology is intended to reflect the increasing diversity of cultural life in Ireland and to give first and second generation immigrants an opportunity to showcase their distinctive contribution to contemporary Irish literature, as well as to celebrate their difference at the same time.

We aim to have the anthology completed for publication by summer of next year and ask contributors to have their submissions sent in by the end of February 2009. All submissions of two copies of maximum 12-15 poems should be typed and be supplied with the poet's name, address, and email address printed at the bottom of each page. Also, please, enclose a short covering letter (max. 500 words) and a stamped, self-addressed envelope for editors' replies and the return of manuscripts.

Please submit two copies each of your poems and letter before the 30th of January to
Borbála Faragó and Eva Bourke
School of English, Drama and FilmUniversity College Dublin
Belfield
Dublin 4

2nd Annual North Beach Poetry Nights' Grand Slam

North Beach Poetry Nights PROUDLY presents

on Monday December 15th at 9 pm

in The Crane Bar, Sea Road, Galway

The 2nd Annual North Beach Poetry Nights' Grand Slam

with 15 Poets/Performers!

Special Guest appearances from

Lucy English (Bristol)

Miceál Kearney (2007 Grand Slam Winner)

Little John Nee

The prize for the North Beach Poetry Nights' Grand Slam winner
is publication of a collection of her/his work.

The Judges for the 2008 Grand Slam are: Lucy English, Jarlath Fahy and Moya Roddy.

("Inheritance" debut collection by last year's winner Miceál Kearney available in
Charlie Byrne's bookshop and from www.doirepress.com)

We look forward to seeing you at The Crane Bar on
Monday December 15th for this great event!

Admission 5 Euro.

North Beach Poetry Nights gratefully acknowledges the support
of the Arts Council and Galway City Council Arts Office.

info: john walsh @ 091-593290

Moya Cannon to read at Galway City Museum

Moya Cannon

North Beach Poetry at Galway City Museum on Tuesday 9th December at 7 pm in association with Poetry Ireland & Over The Edge presents a reading with Moya Cannon, Alan McMonagle and John Walsh

Moya Cannon was born in Dunfanaghy, Co. Donegal in 1956 and has lived in Galway for over twenty years. She has published three collections of poems, Oar, The Parchment Boat and Carrying the Songs, New and Selected poems, (Carcanet Press 2007). She has been an editor of Poetry Ireland Review. A recipient of the Brendan Behan Award and of the Lawrence O Shaughnessy Award, she is a member of Aosdána.

Alan McMonagle was born in Longford, grew up in Sligo and now lives in Galway. In 2007 he received his MA in Writing from NUI, Galway. His work has appeared in Southword, Crannog, The Cuirt Annual and The Stinging Fly. He won second prize in the 2006 Sean O'Faolain short story contest and a subsequent invitation to read at the Frank O'Connor short story festival in Cork. His first collection of short stories, Liar Liar, was recently published by Wordsonthestreet.

John Walsh is from Derry. He has published two collections, Johnny Tell Them (Guildhall Press 2006) and Love’s Enterprise Zone (Doire Press 2007). He is the organizer of the North Beach Poetry Nights’ Slam in Galway, Ireland’s longest running Poetry Slam, and Director of the new poetry press, Doire Press. John is an engaging reader and performer of his work. Admission 5 Euro.

Footnote: The 2nd Annual North Beach Poetry Nights'Grand Slam featuring 15 poets/performers is on Monday 15th December in The Crane Bar on Sea Road.with guest performer: Lucy English (Bristol)

North Beach Poetry gratefully acknowledges the support of the Arts Council, Poetry Ireland and Galway City Council.info: John Walsh @ 091-593290

Greek-Irish Literary Symposium

A Greek-Irish Literary Symposium will take place on Friday, 12 December 2008 at the Melina Merkouri Theatre, Ilion, Athens, with the participation of Greek poets Tassos Denegris, Nanos Valaoritis & Dimitris Lyacos and Irish poets Patrick Chapman, Kevin Higgins & Susan Millar DuMars. The symposium is sponsored by Culture Ireland, The Irish Embassy, Athens and The Office of the Mayor of Ilion. The symposium will also see the publication of Literary Ways 2: Greece – Ireland, in which poems by the participating Greek poets will be translated into English and poems by the three participating Irish poets will be translated into Greek. The poets will also read their work at the University of Athens at a reading organised by the Irish Embassy in Greece. For further details contact Dimtris Lyacos at lyacos@yahoo.co.uk or Caroline Phelan at Caroline.Phelan@dfa.ie


Tassos Denegris (Athens,1934) has published 7 collections of poetry and translated, among others, J.L.Borges, J.Cortasar ,O. Paz, John Dos Passos ,I. B. Singer. He has been translated into English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Hungarian. Fellow at the International Writing Programme (Iowa,1975), invited guest at the Cambridge Poetry Festival(1983),he has also given readings in Belgrade, New Delhi, Strasbourg, Tuebingen, Colombia, Peru, USA, Spain, Nottingham. Tassos Denegris’ collected poems “The Wildboar Speaks”, was recently published by Ypsilon/books.

Nanos Valaoritis: Born in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1921. He studied Classics and Law at the University of Athens, English literature at London University, and followed a course of Mycenean Grammar with Michel Lejeune at the “Ecoles des Hautes Etudes” of the Sorbonne. From 1944 – 1953, in London he translated and presented, Modernist Greek poets of the thirties for the first time in Cyril Connolly’s “Horizon” 1946 & translations for John Lehmann’s “New Writing” 1944-1948. He met T.S Eliot, Stephen Spender, W.H Auden, Dylan Thomas and worked for Louis MacNeice in the BBC. In 1954 he moved to Paris, met Andre Breton, and participated in the activities and meetings of his Surrealist group until 1960. He returned to Greece, in 1960 and edited the avantgarde review “Pali” 1963-1967. He left Greece again in 1968, after the Junta came to power in 1967. Taught “Creative Writing and Comparative Literature“ at San Francisco State University, returned to Paris and Greece in 1976-78 and resumed teaching at SFSU 1978 until his retirement in 1993. Co-edited in Greece the literary review “Synteleia” ( End of Time), with poet Andreas Pagoulatos. Wrote a number of books of poetic prose, a novella, and four novels - among them, ”My Afterlife Guaranteed” in English (City Lights 1990) and in Greek (1995). Divides his time between Greece, France and California. Married to American Surrealist painter Marie Wilson.

Dimitris Lyacos was born in Athens in 1966. He studied law at the University of Athens and philosophy at University College London. His trilogy Poena Damni (Z213: Exit, Nyctivoe, The First Death), written over the course of fifteen years, has been translated into English, Spanish, Italian and German and has been performed extensively across Europe and the USA. A sound and sculpture installation of Nyctivoe opened in London and toured Europe in 2004-2005. A contemporary theatre-dance version of the same book was showing in Greece in 2006-2007. Lyacos’ work has been the subject of lectures and research at various universities, including Miami, Amsterdam, Trieste and Oxford. Various extracts from the trilogy have appeared in literary journals around the world. Z213: Exit will be published in Greece next spring by Ypsilon/books. For more information on the author visit www.lyacos.net.

Patrick Chapman was born in 1968 and lives in Dublin, Ireland. His poetry collections are Jazztown (Raven Arts Press, 1991); The New Pornography (Salmon, 1996); Breaking Hearts and Traffic Lights (Salmon, 2007); and A Shopping Mall on Mars (BlazeVOX, 2008). He has also written a collection of stories, The Wow Signal (Bluechrome, 2007) and an audio drama, Doctor Who: Fear of the Daleks (Big Finish, 2007). He wrote the multi-award-winning film, Burning the Bed (2003), adapting from his own short story. The film starred Gina McKee and Aidan Gillen. In 2003, he won first prize for a story in the Cinescape Genre Literary Awards. In 2006, he and Philip Casey founded the Irish Literary Revival website. His New and Selected Poems is forthcoming from Salmon.

Leading Poet-critic, John Goodby, for November Over The Edge

John Goodby

The November Over The Edge: Open Reading will take place in Galway City Library, St. Augustine Street, Galway on Thursday, November 20th, 6.30-8pm. The Featured Readers are Elizabeth Power, Gordon Hewitt & John Goodby.

Elizabeth Power was born in East Cork but now calls Galway home. She completed an MA in Writing at NUIG in 2007. Her poetry has appeared in a wide variety of magazines, including Crannóg, Force 10 and Tribes ‘n Vibes. Elizabeth’s work also featured in the anthology Writers Seeking Lovers. Currently she works as a librarian and is writing a novel about a time travelling witch.

Gordon Hewitt initiated the Belfast Poets Touring Group, a group of performance poets who toured Ireland, the US, New Zealand and Australia in 2006 & 2007. The group, now known as Scream Blue Murmur, performed recently in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, and at the Electric Picnic. Gordon is active in di-Verse (Poets against Racism) which oversees the annual Love Poetry Hate Racism event which is held in over 60 cities worldwide each April. Gordon’s style is a unique blend of spoken word, performance poetry, song and chant.

John Goodby is a poet and translator who lectures at the University of Swansea. His poetry has been described by Sean O'Brien as ‘bold and sensuous ... it reads like a chowder of names laced with methedrine ... at once lush and abrasive.’ John Goodby has translated Heine's Germany: A Winter’s Tale (2005), the contemporary Algerian poet Soleiman Adel Guemar, and is currently translating the work of Pier Paolo Pasolini. Among his latest publications are the first anthology of translations of Irish women poets into Spanish, No Soy Tu Musa and uncaged sea (2008), a cut-up version of the Collected Poems of Dylan Thomas. He is the author of the influential Irish Poetry Since 1950: From Stillness Into History (Manchester University Press) and founder of Wales’s only poetry performance group, Boiled String.

As usual there will be an open-mic when the Featured Readers have finished. This is open to anyone who has a poem or story to share. New readers are always especially welcome. For further details phone 087-6431748.

Over The Edge acknowledges the financial support of Galway City Council and The Arts Council

Irish Times Critic for October 'Over The Edge: Open Reading'

Noel Harrington

The October Over The Edge: Open Reading will take place in Galway City Library, St. Augustine Street, Galway on Thursday, October 30th, 6.30-8pm. The Featured Readers are Noel Harrington, John Kenny & Eamonn Harrigan.

Noel Harrington lives in Tulla, Co Clare. A regular reader at the White House poetry sessions in Limerick, he has been published in The Stinging Fly, Revival, Boyne Berries, Crannóg, Moloch, The Flosca competition winners chapbook and The Stony Thursday Book. Revival Press published a chapbook of his poems in 2007. He is half way through a short story collection and five years into a prose-poem novel with the working title Harrington's Folly.

John Kenny teaches English literature at NUI Galway and is director of the new BA Connect in Creative Writing there. He regularly reviews new fiction for The Irish Times, and his book John Banville will be published in November. He is Academic Director of The John McGahern Seminar & Summer School and also founding editor of The John McGahern Yearbook, the first volume of which was published in July. He is working on a collection of stories to be titled Make it Home. One of his stories recently appeared in The Dublin Review.

Eamonn Harrigan loves to write fiction and has taken creative writing classes with Susan Millar DuMars. His short story “The Death of Foxy” was short-listed for the Over the Edge New Writer of the Year competition 2008 and he has collaborated on writing a play “For Pete’s Sake”. Eamonn’s background is in management and he has had research into Green Business Issues published. He likes to spend his time encouraging paper to refuse ink. He is currently a student on the MA in Screenwriting at the Huston Film School, NUIG.

As usual there will be an open-mic when the Featured Readers have finished. This is open to anyone who has a poem or story to share. New readers are always especially welcome. For further details phone 087-6431748.

Over The Edge acknowledges the financial support of Galway City Council and The Arts Council

Launch of 'Liar, Liar' by Alan McMonagle

NEW KINVARA POETRY NIGHT

9.00pm
2nd Monday Every Month

GREEN’S BAR, KINVARA

Bring a poem (or two):
Poems you have written;
or poems you love;
or just come to listen

First session
9.00pm Monday
10th November 2008

EVERYONE WELCOME

New Zealand based writer, Wes Lee, 2008 Over The Edge New Writer of The Year

Wes Lee from Wellington, New Zealand is the 2008 Over The Edge New Writer of The Year. Her story, Tigers, has been chosen as the winner by competition judge, Celeste Augé. The winning entry will appear in the January-March issue of Galway Arts Centre's online literary quarterly, West 47.

Wes Lee is a short story writer from the UK, currently living in the antipodes. Formerly a Printmaker and a Lecturer in Fine Arts, she began writing full-time in 2005. Recent writing highlights include being awarded prizes by two of her favorite short story writers: First prize by David Means for the Flosca Short Story Competition in Ireland, and Second prize by Kate Braverman for The Kate Braverman Prize in San Francisco. She has won a number of other awards for her writing and her stories have appeared in various publications, including The Warwick Review, Cadenza and Turbine.

The runner up is Hans-Joachim (Hajo) Quade of Galway for his poems High Flyer, Winkles & Time Warp, while another Galway-based writer, Alan McMonagle, took third place with his story The Fight.

The Over The Edge New Writer of The Year competition is sponsored by Charlie Byrne’s Book Shop, The Bank of Ireland, Kelly Office Supplies and Des & Mary Kavanagh.

Sheridan's Wine Bar, October 17th: Poets from Dublin, Limerick, Galway & South Carolina

South Carolina poet, Paul Allen

Over The Edge presents a reading by poets Paul Allen, Enda Coyle Green, Mags Treanor, Tim Cunningham & Mary Dempsey at Sheridan’s Wine Bar, Church Yard Street, Galway on Friday, October 17th, 8pm.

Paul Allen teaches poetry and writing song lyrics at The College of Charleston, in Charleston, SC, USA, where he is Professor of English. He has received the South Carolina Arts Commission’s Individual Artist Fellowship in Poetry twice. His CD, The Man with the Hardest Belly: Poems and Songs, has sold out but is available for download through Amazon.com and Napster. Paul recently read at The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. His most recent poetry collection, Ground Forces, is just published by Salmon Poetry.

Enda Coyle Green lives in County Dublin. Widely published in magazines and anthologies, her work has also been broadcast on RTE Radio 1 and Lyric FM. Her prizes for poetry include a Hennessy Award nomination in 2002. Her first collection, Snow Negatives, received the Patrick Kavanagh Award in 2006; the judges citation said that Enda’s work is “strong, sure and totally trustworthy.” Snow Negatives was published by Dedalus Press in 2007.

Mags Treanor is a fiction writer and poet, based in Galway. Her work has been published in numerous anthologies and broadcast on RTE radio. Her first collection of short stories and poetry was published by Maverick Press in 2007. This year Mags was selected for the Poetry Ireland Introduction series and also took second place in the Cúirt Festival Poetry Grand Slam. Mags has performed at the Electric Picnic and read her work at the London Irish Centre. She recently completed an M.A. in Creative Writing & New Media with the deMontfort University of Leicester.

Tim Cunningham was born in Limerick in 1942 and lives in Billericay, Essex. His first collection, Don Marcelino’s Daughter, was published by Peterloo Poets in 2001. His second collection Unequal Thirds was published in 2006, again by Peterloo. His new book, Kyrie, is just published by Revival Press - the imprint of the White House Poets. Kyrie, is firmly rooted in nineteen fifties’ Ireland, a place and time when religion permeated every aspect of life. His is not quite the Limerick of Angela’s Ashes but nevertheless Tim Cunningham has continued on where Frank Mc Court left off but this time in poetry and verse.

Mary Dempsey has been short listed for the Anna Livia Fm Poetry Prize and The Salmon Poetry Prize. Her poems has been published in the Cork Literary Review and received a recommendation in their poetry competition, from judge Bernard O' Donoghue. Her work has appeared widely in magazines such as Ropes, Women Studies Review NUIG Galway & Crannóg. She has given readings and writing workshops in Parma and Lorient. Mary’s audio narrative, What Happened, was selected for The Arts Council Touring Experiment in 2007. Her film work has been shown at the Galway Fleadh, as well as on TG4 and RTE. Mary has attended Kevin Higgins’ advanced poetry workshop at Galway Arts Centre

There is no entrance fee. All welcome. For further information contact 087-6431748.

Over The Edge acknowledges the financial support of the Arts Council and Galway City Council.

Galway National Poetry Day Reading

The Mayors of Galway City and County
Councillors Pádraig Conneely and Peter Feeney
& Galway City and County Arts Offices
invite you to a

Gala 30th Anniversary Celebration of
Poetry Ireland

Featuring favourite poetry read by
Celeste Augé, Louis de Paor, Ted Deppe,
Michael D. Higgins, Joe Steve Ó Neachtain, John Walsh
and Special Guests

With music and song by
Judith Mok (soprano)
and John Feeley (classical guitar)

Fear a 'Tí: Michael O'Loughlin, Galway Writer in Residence

6.00pm, Thursday October 2nd, 2008
Galway City Museum, Spanish Arch, Galway

Admission Free

www.galwaycity.ie
www.galway.ie
www.poetryireland.ie/poetryday

National Poetry Day, Mayo Reading

An Evening of Poetry.

Castlebar Library,

Thursday, October 2nd at 7pm

Mayo County Arts Office in association with Poetry Ireland presents a mouth-watering evening of readings hosted by Mayo County Library, gleaned from a wealth of local and national talent and featuring new and some familiar names from the literary community. The line-up complete will feature Kevin Higgins, Maighread Medbh, Noel Monahan, Terry McDonagh, Ger Reidy and Aoife Casby.

http://www.mayococo.ie/en/Services/ArtsOffice/ArtsCultureNews/

NORTH BEACH POETRY NIGHTS SLAM AT CRANE BAR

North Beach Poetry Nights presents

on Monday October 13th at 9 pm
at New Venue: The Crane Bar, Sea Road

Guest Poet RAVEN (Dublin)
MC: Brendan Murphy

about Raven "No hidden agenda but the beating of our own hearts, no manifesto but the breath til even that goes..."
Also: The North Beach Poetry Nights' 2 Round Slam.

The winner of this month's Slam goes forward to
the 2008 North Beach Poetry Nights' Grand Slam in December.
The prize for the Grand Slam winner is publication of a collection of her/his work.

("Inheritance" debut collection by last year's winner Miceál Kearney available in
Charlie Byrne's bookshop and from www.doirepress.com)

We look forward to seeing you at The Crane Bar.
Admission 5 Euro.

North Beach Poetry Nights gratefully acknowledges the support
of the Arts Council and Galway City Council Arts Office.

info: john walsh @ 593290

Salmon Poetry launches books by Gerald Dawe & Michael Heffernan

Salmon Poetry in association with Over The Edge invites you to the Galway launch of Catching the Light: Views & Interviews by Gerald Dawe and The Odor of Sanctity by Michael Heffernan

Venue: The City Museum, Spanish Arch, Galway

Date/Time: Saturday September 27th, 2pm


About "Catching the Light: Views & Interviews" by Gerald Dawe
This fascinating series of literary views and interviews illuminate the coming of age of Belfast-born poet Gerald Dawe during the fifties and sixties in Northern Ireland, the literary and political worlds he discovered on moving to Galway in the early seventies, and his travels since, in Europe and other parts of the world, shadowed by the violent closing decade of the twentieth century and the beginning of the new century.

“One of the wonderful things about Gerald Dawe’s work, both as a poet and as a critic, is that there’s a sense in everything he writes of a kind of precision, care and attention to detail which manages to be both extraordinarily honest, and extraordinarily precise in its relation to whatever object he’s writing about—whether he’s evoking it as a poet or whether he’s describing it as a critic—what you find continually is that quality of engagement which is the same quality you find in the poet. It’s the quality of openness to the world.” Fintan O’Toole
Purchase the book online at http://www.salmonpoetry.com/catchingthelight.html


About "The Odor of Sanctity" by Michael Heffernan
Michael Heffernan was born in 1942 in Detroit, and grew up there, in a multi-ethnic working-class neighborhood, eight blocks from the Detroit River and Canada. He often dreams of border crossings. He has frequently traveled abroad, from Ireland to the Dodecanese during the 60s, to the Great Wall approaching Inner Mongolia in 2002. He began writing poems in 1958. His poems contain narratives, characters, masks, and free imaginations, expressing themselves in new dance-steps on the ground trod by the iamb. These acts of language, of words only, offered a new knowledge of reality, along with a vision of freedom and a kind of worldly holiness.

"Michael Heffernan has sustained and amplified a poetry of real intelligence, technical precision, and acoustic splendour. He is a writer who has hit his stride, sure-footed in his craft enough to let imagination run and leap and dance.” Thomas Lynch
Purchase the book online at http://www.salmonpoetry.com/odor.html
For further information, please contact Jessie or Siobhán at 065-7081941 or email info@salmonpoetry.com

Salmon Poetry, Knockeven, Cliffs of Moher, County Clare
http://www.salmonpoetry.com/

Kevin Higgins to speak to speak at Symposium on the Arts

SAME BUT DIFFERENT

Friday, 03 Oct, 2008
The Huston Film School and the Burren College of Art presents a symposium on commonality and difference in the arts

11am - 5.30pm (Bus departs NUIG Quadrangle and Huston School of Film at 10am).
Burren College of Art, Newtown Castle, Ballyvaughan.

Speakers include: Timothy Emlyn Jones, Kevin Higgins, Emmet Kiernans, Mary McPartlan,, Aine Phillips, Rod Stoneman, Larry Thomas.

Chaired by Kevin Barry, Dean Of Arts, NUIGalway

Inter-disciplinarity and trans-disciplinarity are ubiquitous themes for many art forms, including the visual arts, film, writing, drama and dance, yet the extent to which there is a shared understanding of the similarities and differences of the arts – and of interdisciplinarity - remains unclear and worth exploring. Given the appropriation of methods and the ubiquitousness of digital media, where does one art end and another begin?

The Huston School of Film and Digital Media and Burren College of Art propose a one-day symposium to explore this area of common interest. The aim is to develop some shared understanding of the arts among the practitioners of the arts associated with the university and to open the possibility of collaboration.

The symposium will include speakers from the academic staff of NUI Galway and Burren College of Art, together with other associated speakers, before an audience of colleagues and postgraduate students. A plenary session will follow the presentations

What is unique to each art form? What does each art form have in common with other art forms?

Further information: http://www.filmschool.ie or http://www.burrencollege.ie

North Beach Poetry at Galway City Museum

North Beach Poetry at Galway City Museum

on Tuesday 7th October at 7 pm

presents a reading by poets Caroline Lynch, Pete Mullineaux and Susan Millar DuMars

Caroline Lynch won the Listowel Writers’ Week Best Poetry Collection prize in 2007and her first collection, Lost in the Gaeltacht, was published this year by Salmon Poetry. She obtained an MA in Writing from NUIG in 2007 and she lives in Galway. She is currently working on her next collection.

Pete Mullineaux lives in Galway and is resident MC for the Cuirt Festival Poetry Grand Slam. Originally from Bristol, he was first published by Macmillan, aged 13– then joined the UK performance poetry scene, winning the City of London Poetry/song contest along the way.
He has read from Cuirt’s Bardic Breakfast to the Glastonbury Festival, alongside such luminaries as Salman Rushdie, E.P. Thompson & the Pogues. A long awaited debut collection - A Father’s Day - has just been published by Salmon.

Susan Millar DuMars' first collection of poems, Big Pink Umbrella, was published by Salmon Poetry this year. A mini-collection of her short stories, American Girls, was published by Lapwing in 2007. Susan and her husband Kevin Higgins organise the Over the Edge readings series in Galway.

Admission 5 Euro.

Footnote: Next North Beach Poetry Nights' Slam is on Monday 13th Octoberin its new venue, The Crane Bar on Sea Road.North Beach Poetry gratefully acknowledges the support of the Arts Counciland Galway City Council.info: John Walsh @ 091-593290

Colette Bryce for September 'Over The Edge: Open Reading'

Over The Edge in association with Poetry Ireland presents the September Over The Edge: Open Reading in Galway City Library, St. Augustine Street, Galway on Thursday, September 25th, 6.30-8pm. The Featured Readers are Orla Higgins, Des Kavanagh & Colette Bryce.

Orla Higgins lives in Galway, loves to travel and wants to be a writer when she grows up. She works as a Business & Communications Consultant, primarily with arts and non-profit organisations. She also lectures part-time at NUIG with both the Department of Marketing and the Huston School of Film. Her first love is fiction but she has recently collaborated on writing a play titled For Pete's Sake. She has been a serial attender of Susan DuMars’s creative writing classes and is now a student on the MA in Writing at NUIG.

Des Kavanagh hails originally from the Inishowen peninsula in Donegal. He has been writing for four years and is a regular participant in Kevin Higgins’s advanced Poetry Class at Galway Arts Centre. He also takes an active interest in folklore and local history and has chaired the McGlinchey Summer School in Inishowen for most of the past ten years. He recently co-edited the Irish language version of his father’s book, The Last of the Name. He has read his poetry at Westside Library and Clifden Arts Week.

Colette Bryce is originally from Derry; she now lives in Newcastle upon Tyne where she held the North East literary fellowship from 2005-2007. She has published three poetry collections with Picador, The Heel of Bernadette, The Full Indian Rope Trick and, this month, Self-Portrait in the Dark. The Observations of Aleksandr Svetlov, a pamplet, appeared in 2007. She was the winner of the UK National Poetry Competition in 2003 and of the Cardiff International in 2007.

As usual there will be an open-mic when the Featured Readers have finished. This is open to anyone who has a poem or story to share. New readers are always especially welcome. The evening will also see the announcement by competition judge Celeste Augé of the winner of this year’s Over The Edge New Writer of The Year. MC for the evening will be Susan Millar DuMars. For further details phone 087-6431748.

Over The Edge acknowledges the financial support of Poetry Ireland, Galway City Council and The Arts Council

Clifden Arts Week showcases Galway Arts Centre's Advanced Poetry Workshop

Friday 19th September 1:00pm at Clifden Library Clifden Arts Week presents A Showcase Reading by Galway Arts Centre’s Advanced Poetry Workshop. (Facilitator Kevin Higgins). Readers will include Lorna Shaughnessy, author of Torching the Brown River , Mary Madec, winner of the 2008 Hennessy Award for Poetry, Deirdre Kearney, Mary Mullen and Des Kavanagh. Admission: €5. 1:00pm http://www.clifdenartsweek.ie/

Mike McCormack for Sheridan's Wine Bar Feast of Fiction

Over The Edge presents a reading by fiction writers Colm Brady, Fiona Claire, Jim
Mullarkey & Mike McCormack

at Sheridan’s Wine Bar, 14-16 Church Yard Street, Galway, Friday, September 12th, 8pm.

Colm Brady is originally from Longford, but now lives in Galway City, where he has been a serial student in several creative writing classes. Colm says he has “now graduated from being an accountant who writes to a writer who works at anything.” He recently completed an MA in Writing at NUIG. Colm’s work has appeared on the Virtual Writer website and elsewhere. He was shortlisted for the 2008 Cúirt Festival/Over The Edge showcase reading.

Fiona Claire is an actress and writer who lived for many years in Los Angeles, but now lives in County Galway. She has worked in numerous television shows, including Third Rock From The Sun, Star Trek Voyager, and King of Queens, and in films such as L.A. Confidential, and Contact. She has written a collection of fables for adults, one novel and is working on a second. She was a Featured Reader at the November 2006 Over The Edge: Open Reading in Galway City Library.

Jim Mullarkey lives in Galway. He was a member of Galway City Council for 1993 to 1999 before turning his hand to writing. He has been short-listed for the Raymond Carver Short Story Award and the Fish Short Story Competition. His story ‘Heaven’ was runner-up in the RTE Francis McManus Award. Jim read at the inaugural Cúirt Festival/Over The Edge showcase reading in April 2006.

Mike McCormack is a Mayo-man and was born in 1965. He studied English and philosophy at UCG, as it was then, and has published three books, Getting it in the Head, 1996 - a collection of short stories – and two novels Crowe's Requiem, 1998 and Notes from a Coma, 2005. He teaches fiction on the MA in Writing at NUIG and for three years was writer in residence at NUI Galway. He is currently finishing a book of short stories.

There is no entrance fee. All welcome. For further information contact 087-6431748.


Over The Edge acknowledges the financial support of the Arts Council and Galway City Council.

Short-list announced for Over The Edge 'New Writer of The Year'

The short-list for the 2008 Over The Edge New Writer of the Year competition is as follows:

Megan Buckley, Galway

Fiona Clark Echlin, Tipperary

Denise Garvey, Galway

Eamonn Harrigan, Galway

Brian Kirk, Dublin

Tom Lavelle, Galway

Wes Lee, New Zealand

Mary Madec, Galway

Donny Mahoney, Dublin

Alan McMonagle, Galway

Brendan Murphy, Galway

Mairin O'Grady, Kildare

Aiden O'Reilly, Dublin

Hans-Joachim Quade, Galway

Evelyn Walsh, Dublin

The winners will be announced by competion judge, Celeste Augé, at the Over The Edge: Open Reading in Galway City Library on Thursday, September 25th, 6.30-8pm, when the Featured Readers will by Colette Bryce, Des Kavanagh & Orla Higgins. The reading is sponsored by Poetry Ireland.

Roddy Lumsden at first Over The Edge: Open Reading after Summer break

The August Over The Edge: Open Reading takes place in Galway City Library, St. Augustine Street, Galway on Thursday, August 28th, 6.30-8pm. The Featured Readers are Vincent Flannery, Bernie Crawford & Roddy Lumsden (pictured).

Vincent Flannery was born in Warrington, England but grew up in Ballyglunin, Co. Galway. He works with Family Support Services with the HSE in Galway. He has participated in creative writing classes at Galway Technical Institute. In 2007 Vincent made the long list for the Over the Edge, New Writer of the Year competition with his short story, 'Choices'. He has written several other short stories and has recently completed his first novel, Blackbird, which he hopes to have published in the near future.

Bernie Crawford is originally from County Limerick, but moved to Galway in the early nineteen eighties and now lives in Maree, Oranmore. She has lived and worked extensively in southern Africa, including Lesotho, Zambia and Tanzania. Bernie has been writing poetry on and off for some time, but started writing more seriously two years ago. She was recently a participant in the Advanced Poetry Workshop at Galway Arts Centre.

Roddy Lumsden has published four books of poetry, most recently Mischief Night - New & Selected Poems (Bloodaxe). His fifth collection Third Wish Wasted is due in early 2009. Originally from St Andrews in Scotland, Roddy lives in London where he teaches for The Poetry School. He has done editing work on several prize-winning poetry collections and is organiser and host of the reading series BroadCast in London. He is currently compiling Identity Parade, a major anthology of recent British and Irish poets.

As usual there will be an open-mic when the Featured Readers have finished. This is open to anyone who has a poem or story to share. New readers are always especially welcome. The MC for the evening will be Susan Millar DuMars. For further details phone 087-6431748.

Over The Edge acknowledges the financial support of Galway City Council and The Arts Council

Creative Writing Classes with Dave Lordan at Bray Institute of Further Education

Award winning poet Dave Lordan is giving a new round of creative writing classes at Bray Institute of Further Education (www.bife.ie/nightclasses 012866233) beginning on Monday 22nd Sept (Beginners) and Tuesday 23rd Sept (Intermediate). The course will last ten weeks and the cost is 95 euro.





COURSE OUTLINE

* THE OVERALL AIM OF THE COURSE IS TO GIVE STUDENTS THE CONFIDENCE IN THEIR OWN WRITING VISION ALONG WITH THE METHODS TO CARRY THAT VISION OUT.

* A WIDE VARIETY OF SHORT TEXTS FROM WRITERS AND CRITICS WILL BE USED IN PHOTOCOPY. HOWEVER, THE MAIN FOCUS WILL BE ON LOOKING AT AND IMPROVING THE STUDENTS’ OWN WORK

* STUDENTS WILL BE GIVEN REALISTICALLY ACHIEVABLE GOALS AND SHORT, BUT USEFUL, CREATIVE WRITING EXERCISES TO COMPLETE EACH WEEK..

* AT THE END STUDENTS WILL HAVE THEIR OWN SMALL AND WELL-WORKED CREATIVE WRITING PORTFOLIO.

* THE COURSE CAN BE TWEAKED TO SUIT DIFFERENT LEVELS AND ABILITIES.

WEEKS 1-4 BASICS OF WRITING

INTRODUCTION TO CREATIVE WRITING- WHY WRITE.

Using quotations and short texts from experienced and successful Creative Writers we allow each individual student to come to establish and express their own particular motivations for writing.

WHAT TO WRITE- A LOOK AT GENRE AND SUB-GENRE.

The decision to begin writing creatively is the first step in a huge and sometimes bewildering journey. One of the first questions we will need to provide an answer for is what should we write? Films? Poetry? Horror? Aphorisms? Comic strips? Invent a completely new genre to suit ourselves? The answer depends on personal circumstances, as well as ON the individual talents, goals and insights of the students. This session will look at students bringing to bear their talents and insights on the particular genre/s of writing most suitable to them.

HOW TO WRITE-INSPIRATION AND ROUTINE.

The focus is on finding the space, time and method, in the light of each students individual personality, goals and circumstances to write. Keeping notebooks. Regular writing sessions. Personal deadlines. Short, medium and long term goals.

READING AND WRITING-LEARNING FROM THE MASTERS.

A look at the work and techniques of some of the great masters of past and present. The supreme importance of wide and constant reading to improving one's own writing. The focus here is on the infinite variety of writing masks and voices, with the aim of building up each student's belief in their own individual vision and powers of expression.

WEEKS 5-8 INTO ACTION


BUILDING A CREATIVE WRITING PORTFOLIO

In this central part of the course we will take turns to provide group feedback and constructive criticism on each other's work. The aim is to build up student's ability to be objective in analysing and bettering their material. Over the course of the four weeks the students will build up a small portfolio of work in at least two genres. The students will realise through this that consistent work and genuine criticism improves their writing. They will also have the basics of a portfolio needed to apply to undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Creative Writing.


WEEKS 9-10 KEEPING GOING


STICKING AT IT 1- EDITING AND PERSEVERANCE.

How to be ruthless in applying the editor's pen to your own work. Drafting, redrafting and proofreading. How to bring work to a satisfactory completion. This session will also look at Writing as a life-long journey and at how to make a long term space for writing in your life.


STICKING AT IT 2- OUTLETS FOR YOUR WRITING.

This session looks at how to find an appreciative and responsive audience for your writing. Publishing and self-publishing. Magazines and online journals. Creative writing groups. Publishers and agents. Teaching students finally that the most important audience for their writing is themselves.

FOLLOW UPS TO CONSIDER

1) STUDENTS ORGANISE A READING TO WHICH STUDENTS TEACHERS AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC ARE INVITED.

2) STUDENTS PREPARE AND PUBLISH A JOINT COLLECTION OF THEIR WORK.

Either or both of these suggestions usually generate press interest and are huge feel-good factors for the students, as well as generating positive feedback for the school. They are a record of the class's achievement and as such are something the school can point to when trying to attract further students.

Long-list for 2008 Over The Edge 'New Writer of the Year'

The long-list for the 2008 Over The Edge New Writer of the Year competition is as follows:

Megan Buckley, Galway
Marie Cadden, Galway
Aron Costello
Veronica Creavin-Newell, Galway
Alistair Daniel, Dublin
Madeleine D'Arcy, Cork
Terry Dineen, Galway
Fiona Clark Echlin, Tipperary
Kate Dempsey, Kildare
Michael Farry, Meath
Lisa Frank, Galway
Cristina Galvin, Galway
Denise Garvey, Galway
Paula Gilbert, Mayo
Patrick Gleeson, Kilkenny
Mary Hanlon, Mayo
Eamonn Harrigan, Galway
Sandra Jensen, Cork
Hugo Kelly, Galway
Brian Kirk, Dublin
Tom Lavelle, Galway
Wes Lee, New Zealand
Niamh Madden, Offaly
Mary Madec, Galway
Donny Mahoney, Dublin
Anna May Mangan, Middlesex
Gemma Marren, Mayo
Anne McCreanor, Somerset
Alan McMonagle, Galway
Brendan Murphy, Galway
Mary Noonan, Cork
Rita O'Donoghue, Galway
David O'Dwyer, Dublin
Mairin O'Grady, Kildare
Aiden O'Reilly, Dublin
John Picardo, Galway
Hans-Joachim Quade, Galway
Maire T. Robinson, Galway
Dave Rock, Galway
Gerard Sarnat, California
Valerie Sirr, Dublin
Evelyn Walsh, Dublin

The shortlist will be announced by competion judge, Celeste Augé, at the Over The Edge: Open Reading in Galway City Library on Thursday, August 28th, 6.30-8pm, when the Featured Readers will by Roddy Lumsden, Bernie Crawford & Vincent Flannery

Celeste Augé to judge 2008 Over The Edge New Writer of the Year competition: €1,000 in prizes PLUS reading opportunity

LATEST NEWS: The competition deadline has now passed and we are no longer taking entries. This year's competition has been a major success, attracting 220 entries, a 90% increase on last year, some of them from as far afield as New Zealand and California. A long list of forty will be announced in Charlie Byrnes' Bookshop at 6pm on Wednesday, August 20th; the shortlist of eight will be announced at the Over The Edge: Open Reading in Galway City Library on Thursday, August 28th; and the winners will announced at the same venue on Thursday, September 25th. Celeste Augé was born in Canada, but moved to Galway when she was 12 years old. She writes both poetry and fiction. Her poems have appeared in a wide variety of literary journals. She has read her work as part of Poetry Ireland's Introductions and also at the Cúirt Festival/Over The Edge showcase reading in 2006. In 2006 also, she was awarded the Publication Assistance Grant by Galway County Council. Tornadoes For The Weathergirl, a chapbook of her poems, was published in 2007. Her first full collection, The Essential Guide to Flight, is forthcoming from Salmon Poetry.













Over The Edge New Writer of the Year sponsored by Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop, Bank of Ireland, Kelly Office Supplies and Des & Mary Kavanagh

The Over The Edge New Writer of The Year 2008 competition is open to both poets and fiction writers. The winner will receive a cash prize of €600, a spot as a Featured Reader at an Over The Edge: Open Reading, and the title Over The Edge New Writer of The Year 2008. The runner-up will receive a cash prize of €300, while the third-placed writer will receive €100.

Entries should be sent to Over The Edge, New Writer of the Year competition, 3 Carbry Road, Newcastle, Galway, Ireland with an accompanying SAE.

Entries will be judged anonymously, so do not put your name on your poem(s) or story. Put your contact details on a separate sheet.

Criteria: fiction of up to three thousand words, three poems of up to forty lines, or one poem of up to one hundred lines. Entries longer than these will be disqualified. Multiple entries are acceptable but each entry must be accompanied by a €15 fee and an SAE. Fee payable by cheque or money order to Over The Edge. All entries must be typed.

To take part you must be at least sixteen years old by August 1st 2008 and not have a book published or accepted for publication. Chapbooks excepted. Poems and stories entered in the competition must not have been previously published.

THE CLOSING DATE IS AUGUST 1ST 2008. A shortlist of eight will be announced in Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop on Wednesday, August 20th, 2008. The Over The Edge New Writer of The Year 2008 will be announced at the Over The Edge reading in Galway City Library on Thursday, September 25th, 2008. The winner will be a Featured Reader at a reading to be scheduled in Galway City Library in Winter 07/08.

For further details contact Over The Edge on 087-6431748 or e-mail over-the-edge-openreadings@hotmail.com

September Poetry Workshops with Kevin Higgins at Galway Arts Centre

This September Galway Arts Centre is offering aspiring poets a choice of three poetry workshops, all facilitated by poet Kevin Higgins, whose best-selling first collection, The Boy With No Face, published by Salmon Poetry, was short-listed for the 2006 Strong Award for Best First Collection by an Irish poet. Kevin’s second collection of poems, Time Gentlemen, Please, was published in March also by Salmon Poetry and his poetry is discussed in the recently published Cambridge Introduction to Modern Irish Poetry.

Kevin is an experienced workshop facilitator and several of his students have gone on to achieve publication success. One of his workshop participants at Galway Arts Centre recently won the prestigious Hennessy Award for New Irish Poetry, while another had her first full collection of poems published by one of Ireland’s major poetry publishers.

Each workshop will run for ten weeks, commencing the week of September 15th. They will take place on Tuesday evenings, 7-8.30pm (first class September 16th); Wednesday afternoons, 2-3.30pm (first class September 17th); and on Thursday afternoons, 2-3.30pm (first class September 18th).

The Tuesday evening and Wednesday afternoon workshops are open to both complete beginners as well as those who’ve been writing for some time. The Thursday afternoon workshop is an Advanced Poetry Workshop, suitable for those who’ve participated in poetry workshops before or had poems published in magazines. The cost to participants is €110, with an €100 concession rate.

Places must be paid for in advance. To reserve a place contact Victoria at reception at Galway Arts Centre, 47 Dominick Street, phone 091 565886 or email victoria@galwayartscentre.ie

Range of Autumn Creative Writing Classes at G.T.I

Creative Writing for Beginners with Kevin Higgins takes place one evening per week (Monday) from 7.00-9pm for ten weeks. It commences on Monday, 22nd September, 2008. Advance booking is essential. Places cost €120. Kevin Higgins will provide writing exercises for, and give gentle critical feedback to, those interested in trying their hand at writing poems, stories or memoir.

Intermediate Creative Writing with Susan Millar DuMars (pictured) takes place one evening per week (Tuesday) from 7.00-9pm for ten weeks. It commences on Tuesday, 23rd September, 2008. Advance booking is essential. Places cost €120. This class is suitable for those who’ve participated in creative writing classes before or begun to have work published in magazines. Flexible exercises and work-shopping of assignments, together with the study of the works of published writers, will help each class member to find their own writing voice.

To book a place in either class contact GTI, Father Griffin Road, Galway Telephone 091-581342 or go to http://www.gti.ie/

Creative Writing at Galway Arts Centre with Susan Millar DuMars

This September Galway Arts Centre presents a daytime class for all those beginner and continuing creative writing students out there, facilitated by Susan Millar DuMars. Susan Millar DuMars writes both poetry and fiction. A collection of her stories, American Girls, was published by Lapwing Press in 2007; her first collection of poetry, Big Pink Umbrella, was published recently by Salmon Poetry. Susan is a renowned creative writing teacher, and with her husband Kevin Higgins co-organises the Over The Edge readings in Galway City Library.

This class is suitable for both beginning and continuing creative writing students, working in either poetry or fiction. Students will spend their week responding to writing exercises designed to inspire, rather than inhibit. In class, they will receive gentle feedback on their work from their classmates and from the teacher. They will then be expected to edit their pieces in time for the final class. Thus, students will gain experience in giving and responding to constructive criticism; and will, by the end of the course, have perhaps half a dozen polished pieces of writing finished. An ideal course for anyone who wants help moving from inspiration to finished product.

The class takes place on Monday afternoons, 2-3.30pm, commencing on Monday September 15th and runs for ten weeks. The cost to participants is 110 Euro with a 100 Euro concession price. Booking is essential as places are limited. For booking please contact Galway Arts Centre, 47 Dominick Street. Phone 091 565886 or email victoria@galwayartscentre.ie

GMIT: Creative Writing for Beginners with Susan Millar DuMars

Susan Millar DuMars will give support, instruction and feedback to students who are interested in writing either fiction (short stories, novels) or poetry. The course takes place one evening per week (Wednesday) for 8 weeks from 7.30–9.30 p.m. It commences on Wednesday, September 24th. Advance booking is essential. Places cost €120.00. For further details or to book a place contact GMIT, Dublin Road, Galway. Telephone 091 753161 or see http://www.gmit.ie/

New issue of West 47 now online

You can read the lastest issue of Galway Arts Centre's online literary quarterly at http://www.galwayartscentre.ie/west47/

This issue includes new work by Deirdre Kearney, Mags Treanor and Aoife Casby, as well as work by the four participants in this year's Cúirt Festival Over The Edge showcase reading, Mary Mullen, Megan Buckley, Fergal McNally & Hennessy Award Winner, Mary Madec. There is also a review of this year's Cúirt Festival by poet Brian Turner.

From Madrid, Los Angeles, St Louis, Dublin, Galway & Tuam: Writers gather at Sheridan’s Wine Bar

Over The Edge presents a reading by Philip Casey, Eamonn Wall, Aideen Henry, John Liddy, Jarlath Fahy & John Menaghan at Sheridan’s Wine Bar, 14-16 Church Yard Street, Galway on Friday, July 18th, 8pm.

Philip Casey was born to Irish parents in London in 1950 and grew up in Co Wexford. His publications include three collections of verse: Those Distant Summers (Dublin, Raven Arts Press, 1980); After Thunder (Raven Arts Press, 1985); and The Year of the Knife Poems 1980-1990, (Raven Arts Press Dublin, 1991). A fourth collection of poetry, Dialogue in Fading Light, was published by New Island Books in 2005. He has also published three novels, The Fabulists (Dublin, The Lilliput Press, 1994/ London,Serif Books, 1995); The Water Star (London, Picador, 1999); and The Fisher Child (Picador, 2001). A member of Aosdána, Philip initiated and maintains the website Irish Writers Online. He lives in Dublin.

Eamonn Wall was born and raised in Co. Wexford, has lived in the US since 1982 and is now settled in Missouri. His poetry collections to date are Dyckman--200th Street (1994), Iron Mountain Road (1997), The Crosses (2000), and Refuge at Desoto Bend (2004) all published by Salmon. From the Sin-é Café to the Black Hills (2000), a volume of essays on the Irish Diaspora, received the Michael J. Durkan Prize from the American Conference for Irish Studies for excellence in scholarship. Eamonn Wall teaches at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. This reading will be the Galway launch of Eamonn’s fifth collection of poems, A Tour of Your Country (Salmon Poetry).

Aideen Henry lives and works in Galway. Her poems have been published in The Shop, Soutword, West 47, Crannóg, Revival, The Cúirt Annual & The Stony Thursday Book. She is currently a student on the MA in Writing at NUI Galway. Aideen has also taken part in poetry workshops at Galway Arts Centre. She has read her poems many times at the Over The Edge open-mic; was a Featured Reader at the March 2007 Over The Edge: Open Reading and was shortlisted for this year’s Cúirt Festival/Over The Edge showcase reading.

Jarlath Fahy is a native of Tuam Co Galway. He is a dramatic reader of his work. He has read at the Voices from The Tower lunchtime readings in Galway’s Fisheries Tower, been a featured reader at an Over The Edge: Open Reading in Galway City Library and also featured at North Beach Poetry Nights. He has been compared to both Paul Durcan and Pat McCabe for his darkly comic content and to ee cummings for his typographical style. The Man Who Was Haunted By Beautiful Smells (Wordsonthestreet, 2008) is Jarlath’s first published collection.

John Liddy was born in Youghal, Co. Cork, grew up in Limerick and now lives in Spain. His poetry collections include Boundaries (1974), The Angling Cot (1991), Song of the Empty Cage (1997), Wine and Hope (1999), Cast-A-Net (2003) & The Well: New and Selected Poems (2007). 'La Barca de la Arena' (a translation by Francisco Rivero in Spanish of The Angling Cot), 'Poisionous Pleasure' (a tanslation by John Liddy from 'Tosigo Ardento' by José Maria Álvarez) will both be published soon. His work has been widely praised by critics such as Desmond O’Grady and Patrick Galvin. He lives in Madrid.

John Menaghan was born in New Jersey to Irish-American parents. He teaches literature and creative writing at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, where he also serves as Director of both the Irish Studies and Summer in Ireland programs and runs the annual Irish Cultural Festival. His most recent collection of poems, She Alone - a book-length poetic sequence, which traces the life of an imaginary woman from birth to death and beyond – was published in 2006 by Salmon Poetry. It has been described by the Hudson Review as “one of the best books” of the year.

There is no entrance fee. All are welcome. For further information contact 087-6431748.


Over The Edge acknowledges the financial support of the Arts Council and Galway City Council.

North Beach Poetry Summer Break

North Beach Poetry returns on Tuesday September 9th, 7pm with a new series of readings in Galway City Museum

The line-up is:
Sep. 09: Lorna Shaughnessy, Kevin Higgins, Robyn Rowland(Australia)

Oct. 07 Susan Millar Du Mars, Pete Mullineaux, Caroline Lynch

Nov. 04: Miceál Kearney, Moya Roddy, Jarlath Fahy

Dec. 09: John Walsh, Alan McMonagle, Moya Cannon (in association with Poetry Ireland)


AND North Beach Poetry Nights returns!

on Monday 15th September at 9pm

in its new venue: The Crane, Sea Road.

Guests for September Elaine Feeney and Neil McCarthy (Galway)

October: Raven (Dublin)

November: Tim Wells (London)

December: Lucy English (Bristol)


In the meantime, if you missed the launch of Miceál Kearney's debut collection

'Inheritance' from Doire Press,

you can pick it up for 10 Euro in Charlie Byrne's or direct at http://www.doirepress.com/

John Walsh (091-593290)

Counterparts Stories from Contemporary Ireland

Mephisto Theatre Company
Presents:
Counterparts: Stories from Contemporary Ireland
July's Theme: 'Men and Boys'

Mephisto Theatre Company is sorting out the boys from the men this month at the King's Head Ruby Room. Our aim is to provide a platform for local talent to showcase their stuff. Join us for the first instalment of our short fiction readings featuring work by local and Galway-based writers, headlined this month by Alan McMonagle. For more information contact us at mephisto.theatre@gmail.com


Where: The King's Head Ruby room
When: Wednesday 9th July, 8pm
Cost: €5 / €3--

Mephisto Theatre Company

50 Grattan Pk

The Claddagh

Galway

Ireland

http://www.mephistotheatre.org/

American & Irish Poets at Sheridan's Wine Bar Summer Reading

Over The Edge presents a reading by poets Caroline Lynch, Drucilla Wall, Neil McCarthy, Terry McDonagh & Charlene Speeren at Sheridan’s Wine Bar, 14-16 Church Yard Street, Galway on Friday, June 27th, 8pm.

Caroline Lynch was born in 1976 and grew up in Cork. She now lives in Galway. While in college, she was the inaugural winner of the Sean Dunne poetry competition. In 2001 she was short listed for the Seacat/Poetry Ireland award. Her poems have appeared in Poetry Ireland, in an anthology of new writing, The Incredible Hides in Every House, edited by Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, and in Writers Seeking Lovers. She won the Listowel Writers' Week poetry collection competition in 2007. Her debut collection, Lost in the Gaeltacht, is just published by Salmon Poetry.

Drucilla Wall has published poems and essays in Cream City Review, Kalliope, The People Who Stayed: South Eastern Indian Writing After Removal; Eating Fire, Tasting Blood: Breaking the Great Silence of the American Indian Holocaust; Times of Sorrow/Times of Grace: Writing by Women of the Great Plains/High Plains; and True West: Authenticity and the American West. She serves on the executive board for the Western Literature Association and holds membership in the Wordcraft Circle of Native American Writers. She teaches writing at the University of Missouri-Saint Louis.

Neil McCarthy is originally from Cork but currently lives in Galway. His poems have appeared in a wide variety of prestigous journals internationally. In 2007 Neil was chosen to take part in both the Poetry Ireland Introductions readings and the Cúirt Festival/Over The Edge showcase reading. He has just returned from a European reading tour with fellow Galway poet, Stephen Murray, which included a highly successful performance at the Prague Fringe Festival.

Terry McDonagh is a poet and dramatist. He recently returned to live in his native Mayo after over twenty years living in Hamburg. He has published several collections of poetry, a book of letters, a play, and a short novel for young people. He has worked in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia. His work has been translated into many different languages, including German and Indonesian. His most recent publication, Cill Aodáin & Nowhere Else, is a collection of poems illustrated by artist Sally McKenna – with a preface by Seamus Cashman.

Charlene Spearen is Poet in Residence at the Columbia Museum of Art in Columbia, South Carolina. She is the Program Coordinator for the University of South Carolina's Arts Institute and Assistant Director of the South Carolina’s Poetry Initiative. Charlene teaches Composition and Poetry classes at the University of South Carolina. Her work has appeared in The Southern Poetry Anthology: South Carolina (Texas Review Press, 2007), Yemmessee, Writers at Carolina, Aspects, and Promise Magazine. She was the 2001 winner of the James Dickey Award for Poetry. Her chapbook Without Possessions won the 2006 Stepping Stone Press Editors Series Award.

There is no entrance fee. All are welcome. For further information contact 087-6431748.

Over The Edge acknowledges the financial support of the Arts Council and Galway City Council.

Galway launch of 'Poems from Guantánamo-The Detainees Speak'

Over The Edge
in association with
Amnesty International
presents the Galway launch of
Poems from Guantánamo–
The Detainees Speak
readings of poems by
Guantánamo detainees
by Rita Ann Higgins, Mary O Malley,
Elaine Feeney, Sheikh Khaled (Imam of Galway Mosque), Stephen Murray, Charlene Spearen & Gary King on International Day against Torture Thursday 26th June 2008, 7pm @ The Amnesty International Shop, Middle Street, Galway

http://www.amnesty.ie/live/irish/default.asp