Liz O’Donoghue
You can listen to Liz’s reading here.
Liz O’Donoghue, poet and film maker, was born in North Cork in 1960. She lives in Cork City and has one son. Her first full collection Train to Gorey was published by Arlen House in 2008. Recent readings include Shanghai International Festival on St.Patrick’s Day, 2010 and with acclaimed war poet Brian Turner in Cork Central Library. Her film In the Hands of Erato was screened at the 2003 Cork Film Festival. Murphy’s wall was screened in the Cork Film Festival 2011.
James Cummins
You can listen to James’ reading here.
Cork poet James Cummins loves miniatures. miniature villages, miniature trains, miniature bottles. you name it, if they made it smaller he loves them – because they make him feel like a giant. This piece of information has nothing what so ever to do with the fact that as a child his nickname was ‘small fry’, which he always assumed had something to do with having a similar boyish smile to that of Stephen Fry because why would anyone want to tease someone else about being short. he also writes poems, organizes stuff, edits things and plays computer games.
His books include:
speaking off centre (livestock editions)
Warbler (DEFAULT)
origins of process (Wild Honey Press)
FLASH / BANG (Veer)
Jill Battson
You can listen to Jill’s reading here.
Jill Battson is an internationally published poet and poetry activist who is Poet Laureate Emeritus of Cobourg, Ontario. She was responsible for creating and running the successful poetry reading series The Poets’ Refuge and has initiated and produced many poetry events including The Poetry Express – a BYOV at Toronto’s Fringe Festival; Liminal Sisters – a language poetry event; The Festival of the Spoken Word – a five day spoken word festival; Fightin’ Words – poets in a boxing ring; The Poetburo Slams and the hyper- successful Word Up – a series of interstitial poetry spots airing on MuchMusic and Bravo! which spawned a CD with Virgin Records and an anthology with Key Porter. She was the poetry editor for Insomniac Press from 1999 to 2001.
Jill is widely published across North America and the UK. Her first book, Hard Candy, was received to great acclaim and nominated for the Gerald Lampert Award. She has written several plays and solo works, including How I learned to live with obsession as well as Ecce Homo and Hard Candy – enhanced monologues for dance and voice. Jill has written the libretti for two short operas, Netsuke and Ashlike on the Cradle of the Wind, produced by Tapestry New Opera Works, and produced an electro acoustic sound art project, LinguaElastic, as part of the Canadian Music Centre’s New Music in New Places series. Dark Star Requiem, for which she wrote the libretto, premiered at Toronto’s Luminato Festival in June 2010. Her new project, Sleeptalker, will soon appear on stage. Jill’s third book of poems, Dark Star Requiem, was recently published by Folded & Gathered Press. Her new book, The Ecstatic Torture of Gratitude, has just been published by Guernica Editions.
For more see jillspoetbureau.blogspot.com
Jill will also be holding a wordshop from 7.00pm to 8.30pm at Ó Bhéal. For more details click here.
Colm Keegan
Colm Keegan lives in Clondalkin, Dublin. Since 2005 he has four times been shortlisted for the Hennessy new Irish Writing Award, for both poetry and fiction. In 2008 he was short-listed for the International Seán Ó Faoláin Short Story Competition. He won the All Ireland Poetry Slam in 2010. In 2011 he was nominated for the Absolut Fringe’s ‘Little Gem’ Award for the play he co-wrote Three Men Talking About Things They Kinda Know About. He regularly reviews for and contributes material to RTE radio’s arts show Arena. His poetry collection Don’t Go There will be published by Salmon in May 2012.
Ó Bhéal in association with Poetry Ireland presents an evening with
Rita Ann Higgins
You can listen to Rita Ann’s reading here.
Rita Ann Higgins has published nine collections of poetry. Five with Salmon publishing and four with Bloodaxe including Throw in the Vowels: New and Selected Poems in 2005, reissued in 2010 with audio CD. In 2010 Salmon published Hurting God (part essay, part rhyme). Bloodaxe recently published her new collection of poetry Ireland is Changing Mother. She is a member of Aosdána. For more visit www.ritaannhiggins.com
Ó Bhéal in association with Foras na Gaeilge presents a bi-lingual evening with
Peadar Ó hUallaigh
You can listen to Peadar’s reading here.
Peadar Ó hUallaigh was born in Clonmel in 1950 and has lived for many years in Dun Chaoin. He spent his teenage years in sixties Dublin. During the seventies and eighties he performed traditional music, mostly on the Continent. Most of his poetry has been written since 2005 at home on the Dingle Peninsula, and has appeared in many periodicals and books. He has also won a number of prizes including at Strokestown and Listowel Writer’s Week. He won the The Rupert & Eithne Strong Award in 2010 for his début collection Tír Tairngire.
Rugadh agus tógadh Peadar Ó hUallaigh i gCluain Meala. Chaith sé na seascaidí ina dhéagóir i mBaile Átha Cliath. Tá na blianta fada tugtha aige ag gabháilt do cheol traidisiúnta, ag seimint don gcuid is mó ar an Mór-Roinn. Tá sé lonnaithe i gCorca Dhuibhne le nach mór tríocha bliain, agus cónaí air anois i nDún Chaoin.
Bronnadh duais ar Tír Tairngire ag Féile Filíochta Dhún Laoghaire mar rogha na gcéadchnuasach in
Éirinn i 2009, pé ar bith teanga. Ghnóthaigh Peadar duais i mBéal Átha na mBuillí, leis. D’fhoilsigh Coiscéim Soilse an Chroí i 2011. Síolraithe ó dhúlra Chorca Dhuibhne, tá an saothar seo fréamhaithe go smúsach in oidhreacht chianársa a dhearbhaíonn gur beannaithe é gach uile ní sa chruinne. Rug an dán Sólás craobh na bliana seo caite ag Writers’ Week Lios Tuathail.
Utterly visionary, he is a poet unafraid to take a lyrical voyage to the lands of Avalon. Is beag début a fuair moladh chomh hard leis. – Imram
Tír Tairngire…marks the arrival of a singular talent… tackling big ideas – nature, time, space, ritual, myth, folklore and dinnseanchas. – Liam Carson – Poetry Ireland Review
Patrick Moran
You can listen to Paddy’s reading here.
Patrick Moran was born in Templetuohy, County Tipperary, where he still lives and works as a post-primary teacher. He has won the Gerald Manley Hopkins Poetry Prize; he has also been a winner at Listowel Writers’ Week and the 2008 Eist Poetry Competition. In 1990, he was shortlisted for the Hennessy/Sunday Tribune Poetry Award. His poems reflect his rural heritage and efforts to reconcile it with an Ireland in the throes of transition. The environment, especially its vulnerability; religion; the artistic process are other themes he explores.
His poems have appeared widely in the major Irish outlets: Poetry Ireland Review, The Irish Times, Cyphers, The Honest Ulsterman, Cork Literary Review, THE SHOp, Irish Pages and The Stinging Fly; and also in the British magazine, Orbis. His work is featured in anthologies, including the inaugural Forward Book of Poetry (UK), The Stony Thursday Book, as well as The Best of Irish Poetry 2007 and Best Irish Poetry 2010. Patrick has published two collections of poetry: The Stubble Fields (Dedalus Press, 2001) and Green (Salmon Poetry, 2008).
… [Green] is wonderful, literally; it is full of wonder, not only in the sense in which he sees the world around him but also in the economy and precision of the work. Every word, punctuation mark and space adds to it, instilling clarity and meaning. Anything more would be less; anything less would leave the reader wanting or waiting. – S.J. Holloway for Orbis 151 Spring 2010
Kerrie O’Brien
You can listen to Kerrie’s reading here.
Kerrie O’Brien has been published in various Irish and UK literary journals including Southword, Orbis, two issues of Crannóg, Revival, Icarus, The Cathach, College Green, Ropes, Daydreamer, Wordlegs, Minus 9 Squared, The First Cut, Boyne Berries, Stony Thursday and Raft Magazine. She will also have poems appearing in the forthcoming editions of The Poetry Bus, Outburst and Burning Bush II.
Her poem Blossoms has been chosen as the winning entry in the Emerging Talent category of the 2011 Yeats Poetry Competition. She has also been highly commended for the Over the Edge New Writer of The Year Competition 2011. Her chapbook Out of the Blueness is now available.
Read more at www.kerrieobrien.com
