Pivot Dublin : World Design Capital 2014

Absoulutely excellent news from the Pivot Dublin camp. Dublin has just been announced as one of three cities worldwide shortlisted to become World Design Capital 2014. The International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID) announced today that the prestigious designation, awarded biannually to cities that use design to benefit people socially, culturally and economically will be awarded for 2014 to either Dublin, Bilbao or Cape Town. The winning city will be announced this autumn. Details of the Dublin bid can be seen on www.pivotdublin.com.

The shortlisting itself is a huge achievement. Congrats to all concerned for stepping up - in difficult times - and putting a very creative and positive set of shoulders to this particular wheel. The Dublin design scene has been ticking away over the years, often fuelled by enthusiasm more than hard resources. Recent years have seen a blossoming of creativity, to the extent that Irish designers in all disciplines are making a their presence felt right across the international scene. More power to the elbows beneath the shoulders that turn the wheel! And best of luck in the next stage.

Airfield Writers : Launch & Open Mic

The lovely Shirley McClure was in touch to let me know about an upcoming event that her writers group is hosting;

Open Mic Night
to celebrate the launch of our broadsheet
The Mews

Airfield Writers
are hosting an open-mic evening
on Wednesday June 22nd at 7.30 pm
in The Library of Airfield House

Bring your poem/ flash fiction – no longer than two minutes, please. Or just lend an appreciative ear and enjoy a complimentary glass of wine.

For directions to Airfields, check their site here.

Should be an enjoyable evening, Airfield is a fantastic venue. Hope to make it along there myself.

dlr Poetry Now : Fresh from Dún Laoghaire

Photo : Mischa Haller

The podcasts from this year's dlr Poetry Now festival have been uploaded to the festival website - they're all available to listen to here. Enjoy!

dlr Poetry Now : Pause. Breathe. Plunge.

Photo : Mischa Haller

Considering dlr Poetry Now essentially takes place over a long weekend, over time it has developed a unique shape and impact that nourishes the Irish poetry community, at home and abroad, throughout the year.

The festival has ended now. Over for the year. Or rather year-and-a-half, as the next festival won't take place until September 2012, when it will run in tandem with the newer Mountains to The Sea Book festival. This year's audiences were assured that dlr Poetry Now is to retain it's own identity alongside that festival, with its own curator. Whoever that should be, they will have the unenviable role of following Belinda McKeon, whose agile and progressive oversight has, for the last four years, honoured the heritage of the festival and the poetry itself, while fine-tuning to fresh, contemporary frequencies.

I'm still reeling. This year was a classic. The calibre of featured poets, precision of introductions, themes and organisation, and the vitality, generosity, insight and inclusivity of the audiences made for a fitting end to McKeon's tenure.

Whither from here? The move to Autumn is a significant change. There are aspects to the Spring timing of the festival that are hard to quantify - a vernal spur to tap into, or absorb, which may be underestimated. Perhaps autumnal energies will bring their own, unforeseeable fructuations. Let's hope so. Let's hope, also that the ground is well prepared over the longer than usual interim - that the incoming curator is selected promptly, clearly and efficiently resourced in order to establish continuity and maintain the quality of programming that a loyal audience will wish to support.

Some personal highlights;

- Anne Carson's keynote address (here in a slightly alternate version) was a meditation on translation, the smithing of meaning from silence, risk - the dreaming of new languages into being. Illustrated by the work of Francis Bacon and Tyree Guyton.

- The Friday afternoon fringe reading in Readers Bookshop. Little Old Man: "Is this a party?" Helena Nolan: "No, just poetry."

- The inspired teaming of Joseph Woods, Luis García Montero & Paul Farley - a three course serving of place, dreams and wit throughout.

- Don Paterson's workshop - acute generosity of craft from a remarkable artist, "Allow words to magnetize to the initial rhythms."

- The planned and accidental sychronicities - specific silences from Jaan Kaplinski & Paul Farley, the spirits of Czeslaw Milosz and Giordano Bruno

- Michael Longley's transmutation of the language of war into a new kind of citation, even new life.

- Seamus Heaney, in accepting his Irish Times Award... "the poem... read by two is autobiography... by six or seven, becomes culture."

- The audiences; poets, peers, friendships new and old.

Far too many other individual high points to recount in detail here - so I'll share some impressions from other attendees:

Thursday's Keynote address, by Kenneth

Saturday, by Michael, Kate and Lia. And Kate again!

An excellent overview of Saturday's Don Paterson workshop , again by Michael.

Grace Wells, winner of the Strong Award for a first collection, reviewed and interviewed a little while ago by Nuala  - who was there in spirit ;-).

Kenneth again, wrapping up with an overview.

Thanks to all. Here's to sharing inspiration, continuity and change in Dún Laoghaire again in eighteen months or so.

audio visual : words, eyes, ears

The image above is one of my illustrations for TFE's upcoming Poetry Bus magazine. Illustrating poetry is HARD! As in, creating some kind of mutually dynamic relationship which is sympathetic to the text, but not stomping all over same with big visually metaphorical boots. I hope poet and guitarist Dominic Rivron likes this take on his poem After The Rain. The first issue of the Poetry Bus is currently in production - launching soon! This illustration also features in a selection of recent work by IGI Members over at the Scamp blog. Great selection and quality as usual.

Other poetry-related news is that podcasts of most of the readings from this year's dlr Poetry Now festival are now online here, along with my own brief overview of the festival. Well worth a listen. The podcasts, that is. Paul Muldoon's keynote address is well worth checking out.

On a related, yet prosey, tip - the upcoming Mountains to The Sea festival (also in Dun Laoghaire) has just announced a new competition for unpublished writers from the area - details here. Their site also features podcasts of most events from last year's festival, including the keynote address by Paul Auster, speaking about Beckett's influence..

So, while the sun hangs around, why not load up the iPod, crack open a deckchair (and suitable libation) and tickle those cochleae!

South Studios : Roomful of Drawers

Lots happening at the moment. Not much time for blogging of late.

Looking forward to the upcoming dlr Poetry Now festival which kicks off this Thursday. Not, alas, contributing to the graphics this year - can't win them all - but the line-up is cracking, including this year's TS Eliot winner Philip Gross and The Man Muldoon (who was speaking on RTE Radio the other night).

Delighted to have landed a place in Vona Groarke's writing workshop! I very much enjoyed Groarke's recent-ish collection Juniper Street and her overall tone in general, so quite excited about hearing her read AND getting some tips (hopefully).

I'll be busy this Friday daytime, taking part in Drawers - an exciting collaboration between the Illustrators of Guild of Ireland and South Studios. Organised by IGI colleague Steve Doogan, this event sees a whole bunch of illustrators, artists, designers etc. coming together to customise a wee chest of drawers from IKEA. Not the same one, mind you - we'll do one each.

Friday evening, you are all invited to drop into South Studios for a beer and to check out what all these drawers look like after the creative frenzy. All (?) will be for sale - so this could be a chance to pick up a genuinely original piece of furniture for your bedroom, office, studio, friend etc. I'll have to dash off to Dún Laoghaire for the 6.30 reading, but my piece will be on show.

The drawers are on show/sale for one day only and should be well worth a look.

Deansgrange Writers : Crossroads anthology

Well, it's all coming together! After months of chat, planning, submission, editing, tweaking, confusion, collaboration and ehhhh... a bit of writing, Crossroads is with the printers! We'll be launching this immaculate anthology at Bakers Corner, Kill Avenue, Dun Laoghaire, from 7.30pm, Tuesday, December 8th. Why not join us for a bit of pre-budget shenanigans? You're all welcome.

Guest speaker on the night will be novelist Julie Parsons, herself an excellent example of how the whole Writers Group thing supports those aiming to develop their writing. I haven't heard Julie speak before, but she comes highly recommended. After that, some of our group will read a selection of work from the book. There will be wine. Possibly even Porter. A good time will be had, and the book will be on sale - there may even be Special Offers ;-)

It's worth noting that all proceeds from the book will be donated to the National Rehabilitation Hospital. Our group has a long history with the NRH; one member is an ex-patient, and the group has facilitated writing workshops there in the past.

Crossroads will be on sale locally and will be available to purchase online soon, at deansgrangewriters.com

We're all very proud of this book - a first publication for several members - and there's quite a range of voices here. As our editor, Katie Donovan, says;

‘Here is a variety of voices, drawing in politics, satire, family life, travels abroad and classical mythology. There is a ghost story about a shipwreck, a story for children about leprechauns, a memoir of the Dalai Lama, and responses to the recession in both verse and prose. Although each writer possesses his or her own distinctive style, there is, overall a confidence in tone and an ability to summon up a scene – from a crowded train station in Belfast to a lamplit farmhouse in Waterford – that makes this book consistently enjoyable and entertaining.’

Two words; Christmas Present!

Poetry Day : The Recite Stuff

This thursday, October 1st, is All-Ireland Poetry Day. There's lots of activities right around the country, which you can check out here. One local gig I'd like to mention is happening at 6.30 pm at Dalkey Library. Come along to hear DLR Libraries’ Writer in Residence Paul Perry read with special guests Dermot Bolger and Jane Robinson. All Welcome. Phone Dalkey Library on 01-2855277 for further details.

In a broader context, here's a couple of poetry-related posts on UK blogs that provide some interesting food for thought.

George Szirtes has a short reflection on the role of the 'I' voice in lyric poetry.

Over in Hackney, Ms Baroque has a look at the influence of small presses in the current Forward Prize anthology.

Vibrant, literary, Salt Publishing are rolling their several blogs together into one right here - also officially launching on October 1st. Well worth bookmarking.

Also, back at home, for emerging poets with a first collection under way, it might be worth noting that the Patrick Kavanagh Award have extended their deadline until October 7th.

Michael Jackson : Auf Wiedersehen Pet

So the Guten Burghers of Scampstadt asked for some images to mark the passing of Michael Jackson and got quite a few interesting responses at pretty short notice. That's mine above - the last image created in my old studio - the first posted here from the new one.

What a to-do, eh? This one will run and run.... or Moonwalk a while anyway. Whatever way you slice and dice it, Jackson was a remarkable individual - such grace and beauty, horror and ugliness - so many facets, so many flaws. Through such riotous contradiction is our fragile humanity cleaved. I've tried to capture some quality of that in my image.

I really, really love the music Jackson made with Quincy Jones, whose input should never be underestimated. But then, he was working with quicksilver too - the resulting alchemy a sheer wonder; Kalimba rhythms flickily synched on strats and synths with a twitch and a flinch, mmmmmmmm that's good groovy!

So, while the circus wheels on its inevitable way, I'll keep schlepping boxes and sweating profusely through the humidity as the move to the new studio nears completion. You should see how much stuff has been shed along the way - bags, boxes, big, small, binned, recycled, re-purposed. Now I'm sitting here in an airy Dun Laoghaire garret. One more day of removals and that's it - I'm not lifting or packing anything again for the rest of the Summer. Ciao.

Talking Books : Bolger in Deansgrange



‘Talking Books’ is a series of intimate public conversations by novelist, playwright and poet Dermot Bolger with leading Irish writers about the art of writing and the everyday practices, routines and difficulties involved with creating a sustained piece of literature. Presented by DLR Arts in association with the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Library Service, they will take place in Deansgrange Library. Further info here.

The series kicks off tonight with Bolger talking to Gerard Donovan, author of Schopenhauer’s Telescope and Julius Winsome.

This should be good, but I'll have to miss tonight's gig, as my writers group - Deansgrange Writers - is meeting, frustratingly, just up the road. I'd like to hear Donovan speak, having enjoyed his collection of short stories, Country of the Grand, last year. While a bit inconsistent, the overall tone was very impressive, with a number of excellent stories. You can read an interview with him about that book here.

I think the 'Talking Books' Series will be appearing online as podcasts at some point, similar to the previous 'Library Voices' series, which is available here.

Bolger is also writing a number of 'How to..' essays on the writing process, which will appear in three free newsletters, over the coming weeks. Here's a quote from the first;

"Writing a novel is almost like opening an imaginary hotel for the phantoms of your subconscious mind. You cannot be guaranteed that any guests are going to turn up on any given night, but you need to have the light on and the door open just in case they do."

I like that.

** UPDATE : Anybody go along to this? ***

DLR Poetry Now : A Beautiful Broadside

Poetry Now since it's inception fourteen years ago, the organisers wanted to do something a bit special to mark the poet's upcoming birthday. They delivered - big time! Entitled At the Centre of The Circle, the event saw all seventeen of the festival poets gather onstage to read their personal choice of Heaney poem. I thought it a pity the four poets shortlisted for the Strong Award weren't involved too, but learned afterwards they had the pleasure of tea and sticky buns at the Heaney household earlier - a treat in itself! 

Introduced by John Kelly, some of the guest poets elaborated on the reason for their choice of poem - others simply kept to Heaney's words. The (almost) complete listing of who read what is as follows;

POET	POEM
Chris Agee	Postscript
Paul Batchelor	Docker
Sujata Bhatt	Punishment
Frank Bidart	A Dog was Crying Tonight In Wicklow Also
Eva Bourke	The Blackbird of Glanmore
Colette Bryce	A Sofa in the Forties
Paddy Bushe	Remembering Malibu
Harry Clifton	In Iowa
Ian Duhig	Súgán
Adam Foulds	Mossbawn ; Sunlight
Ellen Hinsey	(didn't read)
Valzhyna Mort	Poem for Marie
Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin	The Scribes
Robert Pinsky	The Little Canticles of Asturias
Tomaž Šalamun	The Railway Children
Tomas Venclova	Mid-Term Break (in translation!)
Carol Ann Duffy	Personal Helicon
	Nesting-Ground
	The Seed Cutters
	The Guttural Muse
Seamus Heaney	At The Wellhead
	At Banagher
	In the Attic

All the readings were special in their own way. Paul Batchelor recounted how his choice of poem brought about a teenage realisation that the gruffer details of a working class life were valid material for poetry. Robert Pinsky recalled how his choice was enthusiastically supplied in response to his request to Heaney for the first issue of The Slate - one of, if not THE first online magazines, of which he remains Poetry Editor. Tomas Venclova read expressively in Lithuanian. Carol Ann Duffy's reading was augmented by musical accompaniment (O'Carolan, I think?) from John Sampson and her young daughter Ella - who had the honour of exclaiming a chirpy ' Happy Birthday!' to Heaney as the guest readings concluded.

A birthday present was then unveiled, a texturally rich and atmospheric painting by Hughie O'Donoghue, incorporating a found photo image - ethereal, richly hazed and timeworn in character.

Heaney came to the stage, visibly deeply moved to a rare wordlessness. After a moment or two, composure still faltering, he began to speak and gradually that familiar voice and humour was restored. He spoke of his gratitude, humility and joy before proceeding to read, finishing with In The Attic, a recent poem, of which a commemorative broadsheet was printed for the occasion.

I had the great pleasure of designing this limited edition print - everybody in attendance received a copy, signed by the man himself. It was a personal delight to hear Heaney pronounce himself 'indebted for the beautiful broadside'. The entire theatre; audience, festival poets, staff, family, friends, peers and admirers rose together in a warm, resounding yet intimate ovation. A beautiful broadside indeed.

You can catch a fine flavour of the event in an audio slideshow over at the Irish Times - (coincidentally celebrating a birthday of it's own at the moment) which features the music, Heaney's reading of In The Attic and the photography of Bryan O'Brien & Matt Kavanagh.

DLR Poetry Now : Robert Pinsky, "Born for Death"

The keynote address at Poetry Now was delivered impeccably by Robert Pinsky. The former US poet laureate chose as his starting point Keats' Ode To A Nightingale - or, more specifically, the line;

"Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird!"

It was the phrase "born for death" said the poet, that struck him with a surprising sense of exhilaration at a certain stage of life.

He then recounted a conversation with a South African friend, while en route to visiting with a local Sangoma, or spirit diviner. He was told "We Zulus don't worship our ancestors - we consult them". This statement also caused a certain elation - becoming a key consideration while writing his latest collection 'Gulf Music'.

For Pinsky, the resonating and consistent factor in these two references is the placing and perception of a duality - conscious or otherwise - in how we deal with life, death, memory and ancestry in defining ourselves in our own terms; the current, the modern. This is where he sees Modernist writing, from the early 20th century onwards, getting to grips with the human condition. He has written elsewhere that;

“Deciding to remember, and what to remember, is how we decide who we are.”

This theme was a touchstone throughout his address, along with the observation that neither remembering nor forgetting can ever be a complete act. He noted that the name of the river Lethe, which flows through Hades in Greek mythology, means forgetfulness - and how, via Latin, the word 'Lethal' shares the same root.

He spoke about the particularity of Joyce choosing Ulysses as the classical matter for his dealings with the modern - a choice that allowed the writer full reign in embracing those contrary aspects of the modern condition within the framework of myth.

The address culminated in reading the first poem from Gulf Music. “Poem of Disconnected Parts” draws together, in closed couplets, many of the concerns discussed in his address. You can read it here.

Finally, Pinsky provided a Coda of sorts, reading several lines from his own translation of Dante's Paradise.

It all went a little deep for this non-academic at times - yet it was a thoroughly engaging talk. Pinsky's smooth, warm voice had a tactile quality which called to mind expertly crafted woodwork - smooth, warm and running with the grain. Speaking with the aid of notes, occasionally using repetition to stress key points, the flow and control of ideas was remarkable.

The over-arching expression seemed to be a recognition of the freeing potential in embracing the fact that we are all 'born for death'. That in 'tramping down' our ghosts, we allow our ancestors to find their place among our words - not haunt us as ghosts - to our own better, vital understanding of our (inevitably) modern condition.

Coasting : Vineyards from Curses

It's all been a bit dark round here this last week - the bright colours and cheery sounds of Paddy's Day suddenly scythed by one G Reaper Esq. In the shadow of column inches and airwaves bulging with Massareene, Goody, Richardson, Hughes et al, we were shredded far closer to home / heart / gut by an unexpected family bereavement - followed within the same 24 hours by the sad news of a close friend's mother passing away. All far too young. RIP.

It's been difficult to work, difficult to write, just bloody difficult. Now, a week later, we're somewhat less blank, less dumb, but very, very tired. Still here, closer - perhaps a little more alive, or conscious of that state - but very much saddened. Still.

Last Saturday's Grand Slam victory was a heightened and poignant moment - T would have loved it. In his absence - and memory - we celebrated, cried, hugged; a vital release - the stone of grief transmuting into almost-joy. When that last Welsh kick drooped short of the posts, one family member assured us of supernatural intervention from beyond the grave. It's a nice thought - our T, doing his Morph the Cat bit over the Millennium Stadium.

So, life carries on, the blur thins out and I find myself on the doorstep of the Poetry Now Festival again. I made it to Belinda McKeon's opening lecture at lunchtime today. Entitled 'Broken News', she spoke about Phenomenology, in the context of the well-known Auden quote "poetry makes nothing happen' - but also bringing that statement into context, by reminding us of those lesser known lines that come later in his tribute to Yeats..."With the farming of a verse / Make a vineyard of the curse."

With that in mind, I look forward to a few days immersion in the restorative power of poetry. So much quality and variety on offer - AND I managed to get into Frank Bidarts' workshop! I had intended to check out local WiFi options, with a view to some live-blogging throughout the festival. I think that might be a little over-ambitious now, but I'll try to post regularly over the next few days. In honour of the location, the image above is another of my paintings, entitled 'Coast'.

Off now to hear Robert Pinsky's keynote address. Ciao. Hug your loved ones.

Whittle, Fettle, Trim, Buff ; Poetry Workshops

Thanks to Emerging Writer for pointing up a poetry workshop opportunity during the upcoming Dublin Book Festival.

'Be Inspired' is a poetry workshop for adults with Medbh McGuckian taking place at 10.30 am on Friday March 6th. 10 places are available, free of charge, to participate in a workshop with one of Ireland’s best known poets. Please submit an application to bookings@dublinbookfestival.com with a paragraph describing your background in poetry and your successes to date, along with a sample of 5 poems. Selected participants will have some of these poems workshopped at the event.

It reminded me that I forgot to flag a couple of workshop opportunities at DLR Poetry Now 09 in my earlier post, so here's the detail on those;

DLR Poetry Now workshops take place this year on Saturday 28th March. They will be facilitated by contemporary poets and teachers Colette Bryce and Frank Bidart. Both workshops are aimed at poets who are building towards a first collection. As places are limited, applicants are asked to apply by e-mailing 3 poems and a list of publications before Wednesday 10th March @ 5pm, marking clearly your preferred workshop.

To apply or for additional information please contact cbrown@dlrcoco.ie or telephone 01 271 9532

So get those emails flying!

DLR Poetry Now 09

Earlier this evening, I had the pleasure of attending the launch of DLR Poetry Now 09 by poet and DLR Libraries writer-in-residence Paul Perry. This year, the event will be curated by Belinda McKeon for the second time, following a cracking festival in 2008 - high points of which included readings by CD Wright, Henri Cole, George Szirtes and Brian Turner. Seamus Heaney, a longtime friend of the festival, also read last year - this years festival will feature a special event to celebrate his 70th birthday.

This acclaimed international poetry festival runs from Thursday 26th to Sunday 29th March at the Pavilion Theatre, Dún Laoghaire and features;

Paul Batchelor
Sujata Bhatt
Frank Bidart
Colette Bryce
Paddy Bushe

Harry Clifton
Carol Ann Duffy
Ian Duhig
Adam Foulds

Ellen Hinsey
Valzhyna Mort

Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin
Robert Pinsky
Tomaž Šalamun
John Sampson

Tomas Venclova 



The Irish Times Poetry Now Award 2009 will be awarded during the festival, the recipient chosen from a shortlist of;

Colette Bryce : Self-Portrait in the Dark (Picador Poetry)
Ciaran Carson : For All We Know (Gallery Books)
Leontia Flynn : Drives (Cape Poetry)
Pearse Hutchinson : At Least For A While (Gallery Books)
Derek Mahon : Life on Earth (Gallery Books)

Judges for this year’s award are Kit Fryatt, Sean O’Brien and Joseph Woods.

Poetry Now 09 also features readings by poets shortlisted for The Rupert & Eithne Strong Award 2009, which recognises first collections published in English or Irish by Irish presses or by Irish writers in 2008, and the award announcement itself. The shortlist here consists of;

Áine Moynihan : Canals of Memory (Doghouse)
Simon Ó Faoláin : Anam Mhadra (Coiscéim)
Patrick Cotter : Perplexed Skin (Arlen House)
Ciaran Berry : The Sphere of Birds (Gallery Books

Soooooooo….. lots to look forward to in Dún Laoghaire this March!

Never rains but it... ..poets (and novelists)

There's no shortage of reading events these days. Next Tuesday, November 18th, sees an unfortunate clash of three very interesting readings in the Dublin area.

Poetry Ireland presents a reading by Caitríona O'Reilly and Robin Robertson at the Unitarian Church, 112 St Stephen's Green West, D2 at 6.30pm. I've seen O'Reilly read on a number of occasions and like the taut, gothic tinge of her collections The Nowhere Birds and The Sea Cabinet a lot. Robertson is a fine Scottish poet and a good reader of his work, so I'll be sorry to miss this one.

The Hour Glass Readings present John Boyne, writer of The Boy in Striped Pyjamas, at the Irish Writers' Centre, 19 Parnell Square, Dublin 1 at 7pm (Admission: 7 euro). I've never hear Boyne read, but he's a very interesting storyteller whose star is very much in the ascendant at the mo. A good one for aspiring novelists, I'd guess.

Finally, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown presents a public reading by their two writers in residence, Sean O'Reilly (IADT) and Paul Perry (libraries). That's the one I hope to attend. Admission is free, all welcome. Venue is The Purty Loft, Dun Laoghaire at 8 pm. Sean O'Reilly comes highly praised as a skilful stylist who believes in testing language, pushing it in unfamiliar directions. His book Watermark, was (I think) the first title from the Stinging Fly Press, a vote of confidence from a quality publisher.

Perry is predominently a poet, although formerly a recipient of the Hennessy New Irish Writer of the Year Award for his short story The Judge. According to his blog, the readers will be introduced on the night by poet Katie Donovan who will also launch an anthology called 'Fishing for Change', featuring new writing from students at IADT. Some of my colleagues from the Deansgrange Writers group will be in attendance too, so it should be a fun evening all round!

Guild, Guide, Gateway and... Graduate?

Nice article by Fiona McCann in today's Irish Times marking the 30th Anniversary of Poetry Ireland. It's a good overview of a great organisation, and raises again the embarrassing and illogical oversight that sees the representative organisation for the most internationally recognised Irish artform still without a dedicated building to call home! Anybody who's visited their cramped office, just off Stephen's Green, knows full well the limitations of the (lack of) space and is given cause to reflect on just how much is achieved from such a humble hub. I particularly like Denis O'Driscoll's description of the organisation as "a guild, a guide and a gateway". Indeed it is.

To mark the anniversary, Poetry Ireland has announced the inaugural All-Ireland Poetry Day - tomorrow Thurs Oct 2nd - and is supporting readings in all 32 counties. The Dublin reading takes place in that reliable venue, the Unitarian Church.

However, I'll be attending a suburban satellite event; Deansgrange Writers Group and Dalkey Writers Group are coming together to mark the day with a reading upstairs in the Graduate Pub (beside Killiney Shopping Centre) on Rochestown Ave, from 7-11pm. There's no intention to detract from PI's activities, we just thought it might be nice to do something out Dun Laoghaire direction. Trekking into town all the time can be demanding on the Burrough dwellers.

I'll be among those reading, and there'll be an open mic (well, I don't know that we'll need, or have, an actual mic - should be pretty intimate and informal). If you're interested in reading, get there early and make yourself known on arrival. Or just drop in for a drink and support your local poets!

Happy Anniversary Poetry Ireland!