May Over The Edge Writers' Gathering with Art Stringer, Ron Houchin, Jane Williams & Sarah Griffin

The Over The Edge May Writers’ Gathering presents readings by poets from the United States and Australia plus the launch of a new collection of poetry by one of Irish poetry’s exciting new talents. Art Stringer, Ron Houchin & Jane Williams will read their work at The Kitchen @ The Museum, Spanish Arch, Galway on Friday, May 13th, 8pm. The evening will also see the launch by Professor Adrian Frazier of Follies, the debut poetry collection by Sarah Griffin, which has just been published by Lapwing Press. All are welcome.

A. E. Stringer is the author of two collections of poems, Channel Markers (Wesleyan University Press) and Human Costume (Salmon Poetry). His work has appeared in such journals as The Nation, Antaeus, The Ohio Review, Denver Quarterly, Prairie Schooner, Shenandoah, Poetry Northwest, and in Backcountry: Contemporary Writing in West Virginia. He has edited and introduced a new edition of Louise McNeill’s Paradox Hill, (West Virginia University Press, 2009). He has read his work in a wide range of American locales and also previously in Galway. For twenty years, he has taught writing and literature at Marshall University in West Virginia USA.

Ron Houchin lives on the banks of the Ohio River across from his hometown of Huntington, West Virginia. For thirty years, he taught public school in the Appalachian region of southernmost Ohio. He has three books published by Salmon Publishing, Death And The River (1997), Moveable Darkness (2002), and Museum Crows (2009). His other books Among Wordless Things (2004) and Birds In The Tops Of Winter Trees (2008) were published by Wind Publications of Nicholasville, Kentucky. His awards include Appalachian-Book-of-the-Year-in-Poetry, a National Society of Arts and Letters Prize, an Ohio Arts Council Fellowship, a poetry prize from Indiana University, a Writers’ Digest Award.

Jane Williams was born in England in 1964 to an Irish father and Australian mother. She has lived all her adult life in Australia where her poetry has been widely published since the early 1990’s. Awards for her poetry include the Anne Elder Award for her first book outside temple boundaries, the Bruce Dawe Poetry Prize and the D.J.O'Hearn Memorial Fellowship. She is the author of four collections of poems and lives in Tasmania. Samples of her work can be found at http://www.janewilliams.wordpress.com/

Sarah Maria Griffin is currently completing her MA in Writing at NUI Galway. Sarah won first prize at the 2010 Over the Edge Fiction Slam in Galway and has appeared on RTE Radio’s Arena speaking about and performing her poetry. She recently took part in a Culture Ireland sponsored showcase of the best of Irish performance poetry at the famous Nuyorican Poets’ Café in New York City. Follies, Sarah’s debut collection of poetry, has just been published by Lapwing Press and will be launched by Professor Adrian Frazier, Director of the MA in Writing at NUI Galway.

There is no entrance fee. The Kitchen @ The Museum has a wine licence. All welcome. For further information contact 087-6431748.

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

Irish Writers' Centre: Poetry and Short Stories Publishing Seminar

On Saturday 2nd July the Irish Writers' Centre is hosting a day-long Poetry and Short Stories Publishing Seminar with leading figures across a variety of branches of the publishing industry.

Talks will be given by Ciaran Carty, Editor of New Irish Writing; Declan Meade, Editor of the Stinging Fly; Jessie Lendennie, Managing Director of Salmon Poetry; Kevin Barry, Short Story Writer and Novelist; and Kevin Higgins, Poet and Co-organiser of Over The Edge Reading Series.

From 10.30am to 4.30pm. Tickets €60 or €50 for members.
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Irish Writers' Centre
19 Parnell Square
Dublin 1
t: +353 (0)1 872 1302
e: info@writerscentre.ie
http://www.writerscentre.ie

Poetry Workshops at Galway Arts Centre with Kevin Higgins STARTING IN MAY

Starting in early May, 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 2008 by Salmon Poetry and his poetry is discussed in the Cambridge Introduction to Modern Irish Poetry. His third collection Frightening New Furniture was published last year by Salmon and his work also appears in the generation defining anthology Identity Parade –New British and Irish Poets (Ed. Roddy Lumsden, Bloodaxe, 2010). Kevin’s next collection The Ghost in The Lobby will be published next year by Salmon.

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 won the prestigious Hennessy Award for New Irish Poetry, another the Cúirt New Writing Prize, while several have published collections of their poems. Kevin is also co-organiser of the successful Over The Edge reading series which specialises in promoting new writers.

Each workshop will run for eight weeks, commencing the week of May 2nd. They will take place on Tuesday evenings, 7-8.30pm (first class May 3rd); on Thursday afternoons, 2-4pm (first class May 5th) and on Friday afternoons, 2-3.30pm (first class May 6th).

The Tuesday evening and Friday 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 €90, with an €80 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 

Daytime Creative Writing with Susan Millar DuMars at Galway Arts Centre STARTING IN MAY

Starting in May, Galway Arts Centre presents a daytime class for all those beginner and continuing creative writing students out there, both facilitated by Susan Millar DuMars. Susan Millar DuMars writes both poetry and fiction. A collection of her stories, Lights In The Distance, was published last year by Doire Press; she has published two collection of poetry, Big Pink Umbrella (2008) and Dreams For Breakfast (2010) both with Salmon Poetry. She is also co-organiser of the Over The Edge reading series which specifically promotes new writers.

The 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 May 9th and runs for eight weeks.

The cost to participants is 90 Euro with an 80 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

Poetry Chicks at May North Beach Poetry Nights PLUS monthly slam

North Beach Poetry Nights' Slam

on Monday 9th May

in the Crane Bar at 9 pm

with The Poetry Chicks from Derry.

Abby Oliveira and Pamela Brown have been performing together as The Poetry Chicks since 2006. They are based in Derry and are regular performers on the British and Irish poetry scenes, including appearances at Glastonbury, Electric Picnic, Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival and Flatlake Literary Festival. Together they perform uncompromising and original work. They are modern bards with an ancient mission - to rekindle the verve of Spoken Word in their endless search for the truth about the world and about themselves.

Reviews

‘...the best thing to happen to Irish literature since the beatniks…’ Pat McCabe (author The Butcher Boy, Breakfast on Pluto)

‘the Poetry Chicks (and Connor Kelly)…so sexy your eyes will water…are among the wonders of the modern age, or soon will be!’ Eamonn McCann (Journalist Hot Press)

‘…the wonderfully entertaining Poetry Chicks.’ Brian O’Connell (The Irish Times.com)

Abby Oliveira was born in Scotland in 1982. Since graduating with a 1st class BAHons degree in Theatre Studies in 2004 she has worked in theatre, poetry/prose/stage writing and street performance and performs regularly with groups such as In Your Space and Sole Purpose Productions, Derry. She has also facilitated writing workshops extensively throughout the country and abroad with children and adults of all ages, and her poetry has been widely published. She was the winner of the Belfast Poetry Performance Cup (2006) and a finalist in the Cúirt, Electric Picnic, Glastonbury festival (2009), and Belfast Poetry Slams (2007), as well as a semi finalist in the BBC Radio 4 slam (2009).

Pamela Brown is a published poet who has written comedy sketches for radio. She has had two plays produced; one of which was performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (1993). Collaborating with the Dutch photographer Jan Voster, her work has been exhibited in Holland and Ireland. Working for Artists in Creative Enterprise she was a leading facilitator for Wordflight, a prose and poetry project resulting in an anthology by young writers. She was involved with the Your Space or Mine? A project run by ARTS, a research group in the Architecture department at the University of Ulster. Pamela has a commendation in Community Drama from the University of Ulster.

Poets wishing to enter the May Slam should have 2 max. 3 minute poems.


The poem for the 2nd round must be performed without a script.


Door 5/3 Euro.


Info: John@ 091-593290


North Beach Poetry Nights acknowledges the generous support of Galway City Council.

On The Farm presents Mixed Grazing

On the Farm

Presents:

Mixed Grazing

Sarah Clancy (poetry)

Tom Cussen (music)

Alan McMonagle (fiction)

Rab Fulton (storyteller)

May 21st 1pm

Ballinderreen, Co. Galway

M.C: Brendan Murphy

Event not weather permitting

Details and Directions:

087 9139698

farmreadings@yahoo.com

And it’s Free.

Sarah Clancy wins 2011 Cúirt Poetry Grand Slam

Congratulations to Sarah Clancy who this afternoon won the 2011 Poetry Grand Slam at The Cúirt International Festival of Literature with her poem 'Hippy Get A Job'. Sarah will now perform at the Vilenica International Literary Festival in Slovenia in September. On Wednesday Sarah was one of the readers at this year's Cúirt / Over The Edge Showcase reading at the Druid Lane Theatre.

Congratulations also to Laurie Leech and Adam White who took second and third place respectively. Sarah, Laurie and Adam will now perform their work at the Electric Picnic Festival in August.