Large crowd in Galway City Library for final Over The Edge: Open Reading of 2006

Poets Medbh McGuckian, Hugh Doyle and Cate Huguelet
read to a packed house at Galway City Library

Susan & Kevin presented with Christmas hamper

After reading her poem, open-mic participant, Aideen Henry, surprised Susan Millar DuMars & Kevin Higgins by presenting them with a Christmas hamper on behalf of a group of Over The Edge regulars as a gesture of gratitude for the work Susan and Kevin have done throughout the year.

Galway launch of Johnny tell Them

Derry launch of John Walsh's debut poetry collection

Medbh McGuckian to read at December Over The Edge: Open Reading

Over The Edge in association with Poetry Ireland presents a reading by Medbh McGuckian

The final Over The Edge: Open Reading of 2006 takes place in Galway City Library, St. Augustine Street, Galway on Thursday, December 14th, 6.30-8pm.


The Featured Readers are Cate Huguelet, Hugh Doyle & Medbh McGuckian.

Cate Huguelet was raised on Chicago’s South Side and moved to Ireland in 2005. Her writing has appeared in various publications in Ireland and the US. Her collaboration with visual artist Emma Petterson featured in the 2006 Cúirt Document exhibition. After completing an MA in Writing at NUI, Galway, Cate has relocated to Cork, where she is working on a first collection of poems.

Hugh Doyle lives in Spiddal. He was a finalist in this year’s Cúirt Poetry Grand Slam and was also selected for Mark Doty's poetry master-class during the Cúirt Festival. He has read his work at the launch of the Oxfam Life Lines poetry CD during the Project 06 festival in Galway, at the Clare Island Festival and at the Newcastle Irish festival in the UK.

Medbh McGuckian was born in 1950 in Belfast. She is one of Ireland’s most critically acclaimed poets. She has been Writer-in-Residence at Queen's University, Belfast, the University of Ulster, Coleraine, and Trinity College, Dublin. Among the prizes she has won are England's National Poetry Competition, The Rooney Prize, and The Forward Prize for Best Poem. She is the author of twelve poetry collections; the most recent The Currach Requires No Harbours was published by Gallery Press earlier this year. http://www.gallerypress.com/news.html

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

new issue of Crannóg literary magazine

Issue no. 13 of Crannóg, the literary magazine of Galway Writers Workshop, will be launched at the Crane Bar, Sea Road, Galway on Friday, December 8th at 6.30pm.

The new issue includes poems by emerging local writers such as Jean Folan, Aideen Henry and Alan McMonagle, and much much more.

The launch will feature music by well known local poet, Gerry Hanberry, and readings by some of the contributors.

To buy a copy see http://www.crannogmagazine.com/buy%20Crannog.htm

'Slam hits you between the ears' by Dave Lordan

There is a thoughtful article by Dave Lordan in the latest issue of Socialist Worker about Ireland's growing poetry slam scene. A number of slam participants well known to Over The Edge audiences receive favourable mention.

http://www.swp.ie/socialistworker/2006/sw265/sw-265-11.htm

Dave Lordan won the 2005 Patrick Kavanagh Award for Poetry. His first collection of poems, The Boy In The Ring, will be published by Salmon Poetry.

Galway poets feature in new issue of The Shop: A Magazine Of Poetry

Emerging Galway poets, Miceál Kearney and Lorna Shaughnessy, both have poems in the new issue of The Shop: A Magazine Of Poetry.

Miceál's wry satire on poetry writing, {insert title}, is on page eighteen, while Lorna's beautifully written, Disarray, can be found on page twenty six.

Miceál was a Featured Reader at Over The Edge in September and won the inaugural Cuisle Festival Poetry Slam in Limerick in October. Lorna read at the 2006 Cúirt Festival/Over The Edge Showcase reading in April. Her first collection of poems was recently accepted for publication by Salmon Poetry.

The Shop, edited by John & Hilary Wakeman, is one of Ireland's leading poetry magazines.

Subscriptions and submissions should be sent to The Shop: A Magazine Of Poetry, Skeagh, Schull, Co. Cork, Ireland.

http://www.theshop-poetry-magazine.ie/

Chloe Poems at North Beach Nights

North Beach Poetry Nights is proud to present

Chloe Poems

Britain’s Manchester-based first gay, socialist transvestite poet
will be special guest poet
on Thursday 23rd November
in BK’s Winebar, Spanish Parade, Galway at 9pm.





Chloe Poems is performance poetry at its most daring, outrageous,
brilliant and best!
A one-person poetry revolution in gingham and pearls!

Guest MC: TRISH CASEY, Rattlebag and Cúirt Slam winner.

The North Beach Poetry Nights Slam follows the usual format.
Newcomers welcome!
Please bring 2 three minute performance pieces with you
and come early to put your name on the list.
The prize is the honour and a bottle of red wine,
generously donated by BK’S.

Amission: 4 Euro

North Beach Poetry Nights gratefully acknowledges the support
of Galway City Council.

Over The Edge receives increased funding from Arts Council

Over The Edge has just been informed that we are to receive increased funding from the national Arts Council to support the literary events we organise in Galway City Library and at Sheridan’s Wine Bar.




Over The Edge will receive € 4, 000 from the Arts Council under the Small Festivals Scheme to support our 2007 programme of literary events.

In a joint statement Susan Millar DuMars and Kevin Higgins said: “The increase in our Arts Council grant is a big boost obviously. We have an exciting programme of readings by poets and fiction writers planned for 2007. In January we celebrate Over The Edge’s fourth anniversary with a reading by well known Canadian poet, Todd Swift, in Galway City Library.”

Exciting mix of poetry & fiction at November Over The Edge: Open Reading

The November Over The Edge: Open Reading takes place in Galway City Library, St. Augustine Street, Galway on Thursday, November 23th, 6.30-8pm. The Featured Readers are Adrian White, Joan McBreen & Fiona Claire.

Adrian White moved from Manchester to Galway in 1990. He has worked as abookseller, a barman, a painter and decorator, a removal man and a car park attendant. His first novel, An Accident Waiting to Happen, was published in 2004and his second, Where the Rain Gets In, came out in March 2006. Both are published by Penguin Books. Man Dog Bitch is the title of his third book.

Joan McBreen is from Sligo and now lives in Tuam. She edited The White Page - Twentieth Century Irish Women Poets (Salmon Publishing). Joan has published three collections of poetry; the most recent Winter in The Eye - New and Selected Poems, was published by Salmon in 2003. In 2004 she launched a CD, The Long Light on the Land - Selected Poems by Joan McBreen with Traditional Airs and Classical Music.

Fiona Claire is an actress and writer who lived for many years in Los Angeles, but recently moved to County Galway. She has worked in numerous television shows, including Third Rock From The Sun, Star Trek Voyager, and King of Queens, and in films such as L.A. Confidential, and Contact. She has written a collection of fables for adults, one novel and is working on a second.

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 and The Arts Council

Launch of Tornadoes for the Weathergirl by Celeste Augé

Tornadoes for the Weathergirl,
a chapbook of poems by
Celeste Augé,

published by The INVINCIBLE Poetry Pamphlet Press,
will be launched by
poet Mary O'Malley
at Sheridans on the Docks,
Galway,

Thursday 16th November, 6.30pm.

All welcome

Celeste Augé read at the 2006 Cúirt Literature Festival Over The Edge Showcase Reading.

The INVINCIBLE Poetry Pamphlet Press acknowledges the financial support of by Galway County Council

Gala evening of poetry at Sheridan's Wine Bar, Galway

Paul Perry, whose second poetry collection The Orchid Keeper
is just published by Dedalus Press





Over The Edge presents a reading by Paul Perry, Neil McCarthy, Alan Jude Moore & Anthony Daly at Sheridan’s Wine Bar, 14-16 Church Yard Street, Galway on Friday, November 3rd, 8pm.

Paul Perry was born in Dublin in 1972. He has won the Hennessy New Irish Writer of the Year Award and The Listowel Prize for Poetry. His work has appeared in numerous publications, including the TLS, Granta and The Best American Poetry 2000. His first book The Drowning of the Saints was published in 2003, by Salmon, to critical acclaim. The Orchid Keeper, published by Dedalus, is his much-anticipated second collection of poems.

Neil McCarthy is a Cork-born, Galway-based poet and English Teacher. His poems have appeared in numerous magazines and journals around the world. He is a hugely entertaining and engaging reader of his work. Neil recently completed a series of readings in Graz (Austria), Prague, Nuremburg and at The Dylan Thomas Centre in Wales. He has just published, Voicing the Bell, a joint poetry collection with fellow Galway-based poet Stephen Murray.

Alan Jude Moore was born in Dublin in 1973. His poetry has been widely published in Ireland, Europe and the USA, and in translation by Italian annual Pelagos. His fiction has twice been short-listed for the Hennessy Literary Award. His first collection of poetry, Black State Cars, was published by Salmon Poetry in 2004. A selection of poems from it was published earlier this year in translation by Russian literary journal, Novaya Junost.

Anthony Daly was born in Galway in 1979. He is currently studying Classics and History at N.U.I. Galway. In March 2005 he was a Featured Reader at an Over The Edge: Open Reading in Galway City Library. Anthony is also a regular and popular participant in both the North Beach Nights poetry slams and the Cuirt Festival Grand Slam. In 2003 his poetry featured in the Tribe of Scribes collection. More recently one of his poems appeared in Galway Xposed.

There is no entrance fee. All welcome. For further information contact 087-6431748.

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

Eclectic trio of poets for October Over The Edge: Open Reading

The October Over The Edge: Open Reading takes place in Galway City Library, St. Augustine Street, Galway on Thursday, October 26th, 6.30-8pm. The Featured Readers are Yvonne Green, Brendan Murphy & Niamh Ní Lochlainn.

Yvonne Green lives in London, where she practised at the English Bar for 20 years before stopping to concentrate on her poetry. Her poems have appeared in leading UK poetry magazines such as Poetry Review, Magma, Modern Poetry In Translation, The London Magazine, European Judaism, The Jewish Quarterly and Arete. She has read her work at the The National Portrait Gallery, the Institute for Contemporary Arts and on BBC Radio 4.

Brendan Murphy was born in Liverpool to English parents and Irish grandparents. He is a graduate of Sheffield University, where he studied the History of Art, Film and Design. His first performance was a Saturday night slot with a friend at his local pub, with whom he developed an improvised repartee on the week’s news. Brendan has lived in Galway for the last eight years. He won the 2006 Cúirt Festival Poetry Grand Slam, and recently performed at the famous Green Mill in Chicago.

Niamh Ní Lochlainn grew up in Dublin with Irish as her first language, spending her summers in the West Kerry Gaeltacht. She has been living and teaching in Connemara for the last four years. She was a prize-winner in the 2005 Strokestown Poetry Competition and her first collection Guth ón dTobar, (A Voice from the Well) was short-listed for the Strong Award for Best First Collection by an Irish Poet at the 2006 Poetry Now Festival in Dun Laoghaire.

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 and The Arts Council

Young Galway poet to read at Brighton Poetry Festival after Poetry Slam Triumph

Young County Galway poet Miceál Kearney, who only started writing seriously just over a year ago, has won the inaugural Cuisle Limerick City International Poetry Festival Poetry Slam. Micéal was born in 1980. He works on the family farm in County Galway. He has recently had poems accepted for publication in both The Cork Literary Review and The Shop. In September Micéal was a Featured Reader at the Over The Edge: Open Reading in Galway City Library. His work has been described in The Galway Advertiser as “unbelievable”. Micéal’s prize for winning the Limerick Slam is a trip to read at the Brighton Poetry Festival in May 2007. He is currently taking part in a poetry workshop at Galway Arts Centre facilitated by Kevin Higgins.

http://whitehousepoets.blogspot.com/

http://www.galwayartscentre.ie

Three women for Sheridan's Wine Bar evening of poetry

London-based poet Martina Evans
reads at Sheridan's Wine Bar











Over The Edge presents a reading by Martina Evans, Marion Moynihan & Aoife Casby at Sheridan's Wine Bar, 14-16 Church Yard Street, Galway on Friday, October 13th, 8pm.

Martina Evans was born in Cork but has lived in London since 1988. She has published three novels and three collections of poetry. Her third novel No Drinking No Dancing No Doctors came out from Bloomsbury in 2000. Her third book of poetry Can Dentists be Trusted was published by Anvil in 2004. Martina teaches creative writing at the City Literary Institute and is a Royal Literary Fund Fellow at Queen Mary University of London.

Aoife Casby is a writer and visual artist living in Carraroe. Her poetry and fiction have been published in Northwords, The Cork Literary Review, Whispers and Shouts, The Divas anthology (Arlen House) and The Cuirt Annual. Aoife recently completed an MA in Writing at NUI Galway, was short-listed for the Cuirt/Over The Edge Showcase reading and was highly commended by judge Mark Roper in the 2006 Start Poetry Chapbook competition.

Marion Moynihan is originally from Kanturk, in North Cork. In 2002 she completed an MA in writing at NUI Galway. In 2005 Marion won the Galway County Firewords Award for her poetry. In 2006 she was awarded the Publication Assistance Award by Galway County Council, and was also short-listed for the Cuirt/Over The Edge showcase reading. Her first collection of poems, The Moon’s Daughter, has just been published by Doghouse Press.

There is no entrance fee. All welcome. For further information contact Kevin Higgins on 087-6431748.

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

Louis de Paor at North Beach Poetry Nights

NORTH BEACH POETRY NIGHTS is pleased to present LOUIS De PAOR as SPECIAL GUEST POET on Thursday October 19th at 9pm at BK's Winebar, Spanish Parade, Galway.

Louis de Paor is one of Ireland's foremost Irish language poets. Born in Cork in 1961, he emigrated to Australia in 1987, where he lectured at the University of Sydney, returning to Ireland in 1996. Louis is the author of several acclaimed collections of poetry; the most recent - Clapping in the Cemetery - was published last year by Clo Iar-Chonnachta. He is Director of the Centre for Irish Studies at NUI Galway.

The Poetry Slam follows the usual format and welcomes newcomers. Please bring along two 3 minute pieces.

Admission 4 Euro. Info: John Walsh 091-5932390

NBN gratefully acknowledges the support of Galway City Council.

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

Babylon Burning: 9/11 five years on

Nearly 90 poets from around the world have contributed to Babylon Burning: 9/11 five years on, an anthology of poems on the Twin Towers atrocity and its consequences. But we are aiming for more than pious hand-wringing: the anthology will be free, but there is a request to donate to the Red Cross, which works tirelessly to help people caught up in disasters and conflicts, wherever and whoever they are.

Enjoy Babylon Burning, then please give something to the Red Cross.
Please feel free to host it on your site, or email it to friends and colleagues and ask them to consider donating. Like nthposition's other anthologies, it's copyleft, so pass it on, spread the word and raise some money...

A paperback version of the anthology will also be available, with all profits going to the Red Cross.

http://www.nthposition.com

Michael D. Higgins reads at North Beach Nights poetry slam

North Beach Poetry Nights is pleased to present as Guest Poet Michael D. Higgins On Thursday September 14th at 9pm in BK's Winebar, Spanish Parade, Galway with guest MC: Dave Lordan

Michael D. Higgins is a Labour TD for Galway West and has twice been Mayor of Galway. From 1993 to 1997 he was Minister for Arts, Cultures & The Gaeltacht. He is currently Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs for The Labour Party. He has published three poetry collections, The Betrayal, published by Salmon, The Season of Fire, published by Brandon, both illustrated by Mick Mulcahy, and An Arid Season published in 2004 by New Island Books. He has read his poems on a number of radio and television programmes. He was a featured reader at Over The Edge in September 2004 and also read at the Baffle Festival last year.

Michael D has always been a strong supporter of inovation in the arts, and this reading is a first for the poetry slam movement internationally. It is the first time anywhere in the world that a former Government minister has taken part in a poetry slam.

The North Beach Nights Slam is open to everyone. Newcomers are welcome.

Please bring two max. three minute performance pieces and be there early to get your name down. The prize for the winner is the honour and a bottle of red wine generously donated by BK's Winebar.

Admission: 4 Euro C

oming events: October 19th: Guest Poet: Louis de Paor Guest MC: Neil McCarthy

November 23rd: Guest Poet: Chloe Poems Guest

MC: Trish Casey December 21st North Beach Solstice Night

And remember! The Galway Arts Centre Ruby Room Slam returns at the King's Head on Tuesday 26th September at 7pm. Don't miss it!

North Beach Nights gratefully acknowledges the support of Galway City Council. info: John 091 593290