Thursday, September 28, 2006

Leading Australian poet to read at Over The Edge

Over The Edge in association with Poetry Ireland

The October Over The Edge: Open Reading takes place in Galway City Library, St. Augustine Street, Galway on Thursday, September, 6.30-8pm. The Featured Readers are Miceál Kearney, Robyn Rowland & John Throne.

Miceál Kearney was born in 1980. He works on the family farm in County Galway. His poems have appeared in his parish newsletter and in The Shop; his poem ‘Ink Stains’ was included in the Heritage Week photography exhibition. Miceál’s work has been described in The Galway Advertiser as “unbelievable”. A finalist in this year’s Cúirt Grand Slam, Miceál is a three times winner of the North Beach Nights poetry slam, and also recently won the monthly Baffle competition in Loughrea.

Robyn Rowland lives in Melbourne and is a leading Australian poet. Her fifth collection of poems, Silence and its Tongues, was launched recently. She has read her poetry at a glittering variety of literary festivals worldwide. Previously Professor of Social Inquiry at Deakin University, Robyn is a well-known critic of reproductive technology. She published Living Laboratories: Women and Reproductive Technology in 1992; and in the1996 Honours List was made an Officer in the Order of Australia for her contribution to women’s health and higher education.

John Throne is a writer and political activist, now living in Chicago. He was a member of the Bogside Defence Committee in Derry in 1969, and spent the next 25 years of his life as an organizer for the socialist movement internationally. John has written extensively on political issues. But The Donegal Woman is his first book. It tells the story of his grandmother, hired out as a child to a farmer who raped her and made her pregnant. The novelist Jennifer Johnston has said: “The story is relentless in its savagery…but he also has a wonderful lyrical quality to his writing.”

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 especially welcome. The MC for the evening will be Susan Millar DuMars. For further details contact 087-6431748.


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

http://www.poetryireland.ie