2014 Cúirt Over The Edge Showcase Reading with Ruth Quinlan, Jennifer Matthews & Pat McDonnell PLUS this year’s Cúirt New Writing Prize winners

2014 Cúirt Over The Edge Showcase Reading with Ruth Quinlan, Jennifer Matthews & Pat McDonnell PLUS this year’s Cúirt New Writing Prize winners Colm Scully &  Philip Connor

Thursday, April 10^th, 4pm

Town Hall Theatre
All welcome

There is no cover charge

The 2014 Cúirt Over The Edge showcase reading takes place as part of this year's Cúirt International Festival of Literature at the Town Hall Theatre, Galway on Thursday, April 10th, 4pm. The writers showcased this year are Ruth Quinlan, Jennifer Matthews & Pat McDonnell. The reading will be introduced by regular Over The Edge host, Susan Millar DuMars.

This event has grown since its inception in 2006 to become one of Ireland's premier platforms for showcasing new poets and fiction writers. Participating writers have previously been Featured Readers at Ireland's most successful reading series, the Over The Edge: Open Readings in Galway City Library. Colm Scully, the winner in the poetry section of this year’s Cúirt New Writing Prize, will read with the Over The Edge writers. Philip Connor, the winner in the fiction section, is unable to attend Cúirt to participate in the reading. We offer Philip our congratulations on the major achievement that winning the The Cúirt New Writing Prize is kindly sponsored by Tigh Neactain in memory of Lena Maguire.

Jennifer Matthews is originally from Missouri but lives in Cork where she works at the Munster Literature Festival. She writes poetry and book reviews, and is editor of the Long Story Short literary journal. Her poetry has been published in The Stinging Fly, Mslexia, Revival, Necessary Fiction, Poetry Salzburg, Foma & Fontanelles and Cork Literary Review, and anthologised in Dedalus's collection of immigrant poetry in Ireland, Landing Places (2010). Jennifer was a Featured Reader at the January 2013 Over The Edge: Open Reading.

Pat McDonnell writes fiction as an antidote to his work in mechanical engineering. He lives in Galway where he plays flute in pub sessions and aspires to write his one great novel. He has participated in Creative Writing classes with Susan Millar DuMars at Galway Technical Institute. He was shortlisted for the 2012 Over the Edge New Writer of the Year competition. Pat was a Featured Reader at the March 2013 Over The Edge: Open Reading. 

Ruth Quinlan is from Tralee, County Kerry. She graduated from the MA in Writing at NUI Galway in 2012. She was shortlisted for the 2012 Cúirt New Writing fiction prize and longlisted for last year's Over the Edge New Writer of the Year competition. Her work has been published by Emerge Literary Journal, Thresholds, SIN, Scissors and Spackle and she won the 2013 Irish Independent Hennessy New Irish Writing award for First Fiction. Ruth was a Featured Reader at the February 2013 Over The Edge: Open Reading.

Colm Scully is from Cork and an active member of O’Bheal Open Mic group at the Long Valley Bar. He has been published recently in Cyphers, The Stony Thursday book, Boyne Berries and The Poetry Bus. He was shortlisted for the 2012 Fish Poetry prize. He is the winner in the poetry section of this year’s Cúirt New Writing Prize.

Philip Connor is a current MA in Publishing student at University College London.  He previously worked in Galway’s Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop. He has a BA from the NUI Galway in English, History and Creative Writing. In 2013 he was awarded the inaugural Faber & Faber Scholarship which will include 5 weeks placement at Faber's London office. Philip is the fiction winner in this year’s Cúirt New Writing Prize.

Over The Edge acknowledges the ongoing support of Galway City Library, Galway City Council, The Arts Council and The Cúírt Festival of International Literature.

Over The Edge Celebrates Tenth Birthday with Harry Clifton, Jennifer Matthews & James Martyn Joyce PLUS the Launch of SKYLIGHT 47 possibly Ireland's most interesting poetry publication

Over The Edge Celebrates Tenth Birthday with Reading by Harry Clifton, Jennifer Matthews & James Martyn Joyce PLUS the Launch of the first issue of Skylight 47 (possibly Ireland’s most interesting poetry publication)

 

Harry Clifton

Over The Edge in association with Poetry Ireland presents the first ‘Over The Edge: Open Reading’ of 2013 at Galway City Library on Thursday, January 24^th, 6.30-8.00pm. The Featured Readers are James Martyn Joyce, Jennifer Matthews & Harry Clifton. This is a very special occasion as it is now ten years since Over The Edge was born in Galway City Library in January 2003. A most important part of the evening will be the launch of the first issue of Skylight 47, the new bi-annual poetry paper from the Skylight Poets, which will be on sale for the first time on the evening. The first issue includes new poems by established and emerging poets, an interview with Harry Clifton, a poetry masterclass with Paul Maddern and reviews. The magazine is generously sponsored by Food 4 Thought restaurant & Charlie Byrne's Bookshop.

James Martyn Joyce is from Galway and he is a member of The Talking Stick Workshop. His work has appeared in The Cúirt Journal, West 47, Books Ireland, Crannog, The Sunday Tribune, The Stinging Fly and The Shop. He has had stories broadcast on RTE and BBC and has won the Listowel Writers Week Originals Short Story Competition. He was shortlisted for a Hennessy Award in 2006. He was shortlisted for the Francis McManus award in 2007 and 2008 and The William Trevor International Short Story Competition in 2007 and 2011. His first collection of poetry, Shedding Skin, was published by Arlen House in 2010. His collection of short stories, What’s Not Said, was published by Arlen House in 2012.

Jennifer Matthews writes poetry and book reviews, and is editor of the Long Story Short literary journal. Her poetry has been published in The Stinging Fly, Mslexia, Revival, Necessary Fiction, Poetry Salzburg, Foma & Fontanelles and Cork Literary Review, and anthologised in Dedalus's collection of immigrant poetry in Ireland, Landing Places (2010). In 2012 she read at Electric Picnic with Poetry Ireland, and had a poem shortlisted by Gwyneth Lewis in the Bridport poetry competition. She is currently working on a collaboration with poet Anamaría Crowe Serrano.
  
Harry Clifton was born in Dublin in 1952. He studied at Blackrock College and later at University College Dublin. He was also an International Fellow at the University of Iowa. In 1981, he won the Patrick Kavanagh award. He has published seven books of poems and two books of prose. Le Canto d'Ulysse his Selected Poems in French, was published in 1996. His book Secular Eden won the Poetry Now / Irish Times award in 2008. He teaches at University College Dublin and is Ireland Professor of Poetry. His most recent poetry collection is the highly acclaimed The Winter Sleep of Captain Lemass, which was published by Bloodaxe in May 2012.

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, who have funded Over The Edge since 2004; The Arts Council, who have funded us continuously since 2006; and Poetry Ireland who have sponsored several readings over the years, including this reading by Harry Clifton.