Tuesday, November 04, 2008

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