Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop launch of Kevin Higgins’s Extended Essay on Being a Marxist Poet

You are invited to the launch of Kevin Higgins’s extended essay, Thrills & Difficulties: Being A Marxist Poet In 21^st Century Ireland, which is published in pamphlet form by Beir Bua Press, on Wednesday, September 8^th at 6.30pm. The book will be launched by poet Ciaran O'Rourke.  The launch will adhere to all Covid 19 social distancing protocols. You can buy an advance copy of Thrills & Difficulties here.  

As part of the launch Patrick Chapman, Ruth Quinlan, Rachel Coventry, Dave Lordan, & Ciaran O’Rourke will read poems of theirs which Kevin has quoted in Thrills & Difficulties...

Praise for Thrills & Difficulties:  

“I would never accuse Kevin Higgins of writing anything so diminishing as a rallying cry or manifesto. And yet, nobody is safe from his sharpened wit (least of all his Granny's fading crockery) as he eviscerates any notions we might have about what poetry should be. It would be wise to read this with a strong dose of self-awareness and, at the very least, a muted understanding of the genuine need for change in a world cracking under the weight of capitalism.” Alvy Carragher, poet & author of The Men I Keep Under My Bed (Salmon Poetry, 2021)   

"those who habitually occupy 'the best room' will hear its walls rattling in this detailed, rollicking, humorous, full-on piece of polemic. It's personal. What makes it even more forceful is that Higgins comes to praise as well as to bury, generously listing and quoting from a phalanx of poets. Poets who, while sometimes outside 'the best room', are making the best noises. In an age where poets are being routinely enlisted to make banks and building societies look 'street' [and themselves vacuous] ----this type of corrective slap is ever more necessary. Long may he [purposefully] rave." Matthew Caley, poet & author of Trawlerman’s Turquoise (Bloodaxe Books, 2019)  

 

For further details contact Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop on (091) 561 766 or Kevin on 087-6431748. 

 

2015 Over The Edge New Writer of The Year THE WINNERS!

The winner in the fiction category and 2015 Over The Edge New Writer of The Year is Paul Duffy from Wicklow for his short story 'Redolence'. Paul receives a cash prize of €700 and his short story manuscript will be read by Doire Press. Paul will be a Featured Reader at an Over The Edge: Open Reading during the first half of 2016. Paul also receives a basket of books from Kenny’s Bookshop.

The poetry winner is Bennett McNiff from Drogheda, for his poem 'Stavrogin in Iceland'. Bennett receives a cash prize of €300; his poetry manuscript will be read by Salmon Poetry.

Runners up and highly commended in Poetry:

2^nd place: Rachel Coventry from Galway for ‘What Did I Do To Deserve You’

3^rd place: Paul McCarrick from Athlone for ‘Thanks to the Internet’.

Runners up and highly commended in Fiction:

2^nd place: Dermot Duffy from Dublin for ‘Luke Kelly’s Bones’.

3^rd place: Michelle Coyne from Galway for ‘The Sniper’

You can read the shortlist here.

We thank our judge Dave Lordan and our sponsors: Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop; Dock No, 1, ISupply Quay Street; Ward’s Hotel; Derek  Nolan TD; Clare Daly TD; and Kenny’s Bookshop & Gallery.

September Over The Edge: Open Reading with Padhraic Harris, Rachel Coventry & Australian poet John Foulcher

 John Foulcher

Padhraic Harris & Rachel Coventry to read with Australian poet John Foulcher at September Over The Edge: Open Reading  

The September ‘Over The Edge: Open Reading’ takes place in Galway City Library on Thursday, September 26^th, 6.30-8.00pm. The Featured Readers are Padhraic Harris, Rachel Coventry & John Foulcher. There will as usual be an open-mic after the Featured Readers have finished. 

Rachel Coventry had been writing poetry and fiction since September 2010 when she did a beginners creative writing class with Kevin Higgins. Her work has appeared in Skylight 47, The Burning Bush 2, Boyne Berries, Bare Hands, and the First Cut. She was short listed for the 2012 Over The Edge New Writer of the Year Competition. She is currently studying for a PhD in the philosophy of art at The National University of Ireland, Galway.

Padhraic  Harris lives in Galway where he practises law. He dabbled in writing in his youth. Samples of his early short stories may be found in Criterion magazine. After a long break he renewed his interest in writing in the past year and finds inspiration, encouragement and enjoyment in creative writing classes at Galway Technical Institute.

John Foulcher has published nine books of poetry and a textbook about writing poetry. His poems were set for study on the New South Wales Higher School certificate for over 10 years in the 80′s or 90′s. His poetry is described by the Oxford Companion to Australian Literature as ‘simple, direct and convincing’. John received a Young Writer’s Fellowship from the Oz Council in 1981 (Light Pressure came out of that); Australia Council General Writing Grant, 1977; Australia Council Young Writer’s Fellowship, 1980. He won the National Library Bicentennial Award in 1988, the ACT Book of the Year Award in 1994, received an Established Writers Grant from the Oz Council in 2003, and in 2010-11 was the Oz Council’s resident in the Keesing Studio in Paris. He has been the poetry editor of both The Canberra Times and the Voices, the magazine of the National Library. In 2010, he was awarded a writer in residency in Paris at the Cité Internationale des Arts by the Literature Board of the Australia Council. His most recent and widely acclaimed book, The Sunset Assumption, was the result.

As usual there will be an open-mic after the Featured Readers have finished. New readers are always most welcome. The MC for the evening will be Susan Millar DuMars. For further details phone 087-6431748.

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