MAY POETRY WORKSHOPS AT GALWAY ARTS CENTRE

Starting in 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 in 2010 by Salmon. His work also appears in the generation defining anthology Identity Parade –New British and Irish Poets (Ed. Roddy Lumsden, Bloodaxe, 2010) and The Hundred Years’ War: modern war poems (Ed Neil Astley, Bloodaxe April 2014).  A collection of Kevin’s essays and book reviews, Mentioning The War, was published by Salmon Poetry in 2012. Kevin’s poetry has been translated into Greek, Russian, Spanish, Italian, Japanese & Portuguese. His fourth collection of poetry, The Ghost in the Lobby, was published in 2014 by Salmon. Kevin's poetry was the subject of a paper 'The Case of Kevin Higgins, or, The Present State of Irish Poetic Satire' presented by David Wheatley at a Symposium on Satire at the University of Aberdeen. Kevin was satirist-in-residence with the alternative literature website The Bogman’s Cannon 2015-16 and is Writer-in-Residence at University Hospitals Galway. 2016 – The Selected Satires of Kevin Higgins was published by NuaScéalta in early 2016; a pamphlet of Kevin’s recent political poems The Minister For Poetry Has Decreed was published in 2016 by  the new Culture Matters imprint of U.K. based Manifesto Press. Song of Songs 2:0 – New & Selected Poems is published by Salmon (Spring 2017) and launched at the 2017 Cúirt Festival. The Stinging Fly magazine recently described Kevin as “likely the most widely read living poet in Ireland”. His poems have been quoted in The Daily Telegraph, The Times (UK), The Independent, The Daily Mirror, on Tonight With Vincent Browne; and read aloud by film director Ken Loach at a political meeting in London.

Kevin Higgins

Each week Kevin will give participants a poetry writing exercise for the following week and will offer each participant constructive suggestions as to how her or his poem can become the best possible poem it can be.

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, two have won the Cúirt New Writing Prize, and yet another the Cúirt Poetry Grand Slam, while several have published collections of their poems; two being shortlisted for the Shine-Strong Award for Best First Collection of poems. In 2013 a group of his students set up the poetry newspaper Skylight 47, which publishes new poems, reviews of poetry books and opinion pieces about poetry related matters. Kevin teaches poetry on the NUIG BA Creative Writing Connect programme and is Creative Writing Director for the NUI Galway Summer School. 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 Monday May 14^th.  They will take place on Tuesday evenings, 7-8.30pm (first class Tuesday, May 15^th); on Thursday afternoons, 2-4pm (first class Thursday, May 17^th) and on Friday afternoons, 2-3.30pm (first class Friday, May 18^th).

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 a €80 concession rate.

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

May Daytime Creative Writing with Susan Millar DuMars at Galway Arts Centre

Starting in May, 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, Lights In The Distance, was published in December 2010 by Doire Press; she has published four collections of poetry, Big Pink Umbrella (2008), Dreams For Breakfast (2010), The God Thing (2013), & Bone Fire (2016) all with Salmon Poetry. Susan was the Featured Fiction writer in a recent issue of the American online magazine The Atticus Review. She is also co-organiser of the Over The Edge reading series which specifically promotes new writers. Susan edited the anthology Over the Edge – the first ten years, published by Salmon, which includes work by forty seven writers who have published a first book since they did a reading at an Over The Edge: Open Reading in Galway City Library. 

Susan Millar DuMars

The class is suitable for both beginning and continuing creative writing students, working in either poetry or fiction. Students will spend their weeks 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, 2.30-4.30pm, commencing on Monday, May 14^th. It runs for 6 weeks.

The cost to participants is 90 Euro with an 80 Euro concession price. Booking is essential as places are limited. There are no refunds once the class has started. For booking please contact Galway Arts Centre, 47 Dominick Street, phone 091 565886, email info@galwayartscentre.ie, or go to GalwayArtsCentre.ie

Over The Edge in association with the Cúirt Festival of International Literature presents the thirteenth annual New Writing Showcase

Dara Ó Foghlú, Vinny Steed, & Paul Denby.

Since its inception in 2006 the New Writing Showcase has grown to become one of the most important platforms for emerging writers in Ireland. This year’s Cúirt Over The Edge New Writing Showcase features three participants from the Over the Edge literary series in Galway – Paul Denby, Dara Ó Foghlú, & Vinny Steed – and Eimear O’Callaghan and Eoin Hegarty,  the winners of the Cúirt New Writing Poetry Prize 2018. The MC for the event will be regular Over The Edge host Susan Millar DuMars. It takes place on Wednesday, April 25^th, 11 am, at The Town Hall Theatre. Entry is free of charge. All welcome.

Fiction writer Dara Ó Foghlú is a native of Galway. He graduated from the Writing MA in NUI Galway in 2008. He has published his fiction in Ropes as well as in three collections of short stories with The Atlantis Collective, which were launched as part of the Cúirt festival. He has been a freelance editor for seven years, and has recently returned from Vietnam where he was editing state propaganda for the Communists. Dara was a Featured Reader at the September 2017 Over The Edge: Open Reading.

Poet Vinny Steed has had work published abroad and in Ireland.  His poems have featured in the Galway Review, Headstuff, Skylight 47, Crannóg, Into the Void, Tales from the Forest magazine and in Ofi Press magazine.  He has been long listed for the Over The Edge New Writer of The Year competition and short listed for the 2016 Doolin poetry competition.  One of his poems was nominated by Into the Void for the Pushcart Prize.  He attends poetry workshops in the Galway Arts Centre. Vinny was a Featured Reader at the January 2017 Over The Edge: Open Reading.

Paul Denby has been in Galway since 2005, having previously lived in England and Germany. He studied Mathematics and Economics, and works as a Software Engineer. Paul participates in poetry workshops at the Galway Arts Centre and was shortlisted for the 2017 ‘Over the Edge’ New Writer of the Year Competition. Paul was a Featured Reader at the September 2017 Over The Edge: Open Reading.

Over The Edge acknowledges the ongoing financial support of The Arts Council, Galway City Council, and Poetry Ireland, and our ongoing partnership with the Cúirt Festival of International Literature.