29th February 2020
We’re thrilled to announce the winner of the 7th Five Words International Poetry Competition, for his poem Betty Fox is Skipping, is English poet Derek Sellen – and the first poet to win the competition for a second time!
Judges Afric McGlinchey and Michael Ray made their selection, along with the full shortlist of twelve poems, from 595 entries. All going well, Derek will read and take part in Ó Bhéal’s 13th anniversary event (13th April 2020), as will a number of other shortlisted poets at the launch of Five Words Vol XIII.
Congratulations to all of this year’s shortlisted poets and for two highly commended entries from Cliona O’Connell (Ireland) and Rosemary Norman (England).
| Betty Fox is Skipping | by Derek Sellen (England) winner |
| Evolution | by Cliona O’Connell (Ireland) highly commended |
| Automaton | by Rosemary Norman (England) highly commended |
| Father’s Day | by Janice Bethany (USA) |
| Wise and Luminous | by Ada Volynska (Ukraine) |
| Smoke Flares, Pyro Prayers | by Lucy Holme (Ireland) |
| The Boat Crane | by Sharon Phillips (England) |
| 6am. River. Girl. | by Fiona Ritchie Walker (England/Scotland) |
|
To Paint Death as The Mountain Pine Beetle |
by Michele Ring (France) |
|
Bottled Lines, Excellent Spirits |
by Ada Volynska (Ukraine) |
|
A Small Bee Came to Rest Upon My Hand |
by Margaret McCarthy (Ireland) |
| La Rue des Touettes | by David W Evans (Jersey) |
Shortlisted poems will appear in Five Words Vol XIII, to be launched at Ó Bhéal on Monday the 13th of April 2020, along with the award presentation and readings from contributors.
The 8th Five Words International Competition will commence at noon on Tuesday the 14th of April, 2020. Due to a significant increase in submissions, the competition will be increasing its prize money.
The 7th Winter Warmer festival saw an marked increase in audience numbers in the KINO and Hayloft Bar over three days. The festival featured 23+ poets, poetry-films, poetry set to music, live performance with film, workshops and a poetry film panel discussion.
The Friday afternoon workshops were fully attended with Kimberly Reyes leading a poetry session while Marie Craven and Claudia Larose-Bell discussed poetry-film. Corn Uí Riada winner and acclaimed sean-nós singer Máire Ní Chéileachair opened the festival, accompanied by Cork musicians Con O’Drisceoil (accordion) and Johnny McCarthy (fiddle, flute).
2019 has a strong poetry-film theme as acclaimed Australian poetry-filmmaker Marie Craven also led a panel discussion, presented a curated screening and directed a live audiovisual poetry performance featuring Australian actor/writer Claudia Larose-Bell. Later into the Friday evening local trio Dourga blended music, song and spoken word.
The Saturday afternoon featured a closed-mic set for ten local poets. Events on Sunday 24th took place at Ó Bhéal’s regular home in The Hayloft Bar (Winthrop St), starting with a selection from Ó Bhéal’s 2019 Poetry-Film competition, followed by a multilingual Many Tongues of Cork session curated by Joanna Dukkupati to celebrate diversity through writing (and translation), featuring six female voices who represent a wide range of Cork communities. The session also included sign language interpretation from Ray Greene, with projected translations.
There’s a fine and comprehensive online review of the festival by Dr Cornelia Gräbner from Lancaster University here. Festival photographer Linda Ibbotson also put together an excellent photographic review on her blog, here.
[L-R] Liz Berry, Afric McGlinchey, Aifric MacAodha & Anne Frater 
With thanks to the festival sponsors and to the fabulous, ever-expanding team of volunteers. A truly communal effort and brilliant result. With thanks to Lovisa Cosgrave for the excellent videography and editing, and to poet/photographer Linda Ibbotson for the gorgeous photos – all available on our facebook page, at this link.
The Kino, The Long Valley Bar, The Arts Council, Foras na Gaeilge, Dunnes Stores, Forum Publications,
Colmcille, Arc Publications, Isaacs Hotel, Cork City Council, Poetry Ireland, UCC English Dept,
Café Torino and Paradiso.
with photos and reviews from
Benjamin Burns, Aysar Ghassan, Shaunna Lee Lynch and Raef Boylan.
[L-R] Shaunna Lee Lynch, Benjamin Burns, Aysar Ghassan & Raef Boylan
In 2019 Ó Bhéal welcomed Coventry poets Aysar Ghassan and Raef Boylan to Cork in August, while Cork poets Shaunna Lee Lynch and Benjamin Burns were sent (ceremoniously!) to Coventry, for two readings in November.
13th October 2019
Our congratulations to Dublin based filmmaker Fiona Aryan whose film Virginia gave me Roses is Ó Bhéal’s 7th poetry-film competition winner, as announced at the IndieCork Festival awards ceremony. Fiona’s film won amid very tough competition from 31 other shortlisted entries representing 33 countries, the details of which you can view here. Our special thanks to all the poets and filmmakers who submitted this year. A record 198 films were submitted from 33 countries.
Poem: Virginia gave me Roses by Lani O’Hanlon
Synopsis – A film exploring impermanence, female relationships and the rituals that sustain us in times of sorrow, loss and joy.
Director: Fiona Aryan (Ireland)
Fiona Aryan is an artist and filmmaker who likes to look at the beauty and magic that can be found in everyday life. ‘Going to the Well’, a poetry-film made with poet Lani O’Hanlon was shortlisted for the Ó Bhéal Poetry-Film competition in 2018. She is currently studying for a degree in film and TV production.
“… a soft-focused, memory-like family interaction that supports, compliments and, at the same time, adds weight to an original text that is both moving and strongly visual … transports the viewer into a dreamlike state where one is enveloped by the profound sense of love and safety which being in a close-knit family occasion provides. – Stan Notte
“… though an awful lot of the entries were beautifully filmed and made, not all of the poems were strong enough to carry their film. Virginia Gave me Roses immediately worked for me on first viewing, and only improved as I watched it again. The beauty of the poem was matched by the subtle imagining of the visual. – Colm Scully
Congratulations!! to Mary Anne Smith, our sixth Five Words International Poetry Competition winner, for her poem, Monolith. Mary Anne will read as Ó Bhéal’s guest poet at our 12th anniversary event (15th April 2019).
Congratulations to all of this year’s shortlisted poets, and for three highly commended entries from Jenny Pollak (Australia), Sophia Li (USA) and Steve Xerri (England). Our thanks to everyone who entered (297 submissions), and we are particularly grateful to judges Bernadette McCarthy & Matthew Geden.
| Monolith | by Mary Anne Smith (England) winner |
| The Idea of Snow | by by Jenny Pollak (Australia) highly commended |
| My grandmother goes to the temple |
by Sophia Li (USA) highly commended |
| The Lyric Impulse | by Steve Xerri (England) highly commended |
| Omens | by Joan Gooding (England) |
| Detachment | by Geraldine McCarthy (Ireland) |
| Peckham Flaneur | by Giles Constable (England) |
|
La Llorona / Weeping Woman |
by Derek Sellen (England) |
| What you woke to | by Steve Xerri (England) |
| Karst Landscape | by Gillian Laker (England) |
| Vardo | by Jill Munro (England) |
| Nexus | by Tamara Miles (USA) |
The shortlisted poems will appear in Five Words Vol XII, to be launched at Ó Bhéal on Monday the 15th of April 2019, along with the award presentation and readings from contributors. The 7th Five Words International Competition will commence at noon on Tuesday the 16th of April, 2019.
The 6th Winter Warmer festival was the biggest yet returning to the KINO and expanding to four days. It featured 23+ poets, Ó Bhéal’s International poetry-film competition shortlist, poetry in theatre, poetry with music, a new multilingual anthology launch A Journey called Home, a hurling poetry session and closed-mic set for ten local poets.
We also held a series of literary presentations from Ó Bhéal’s four European (ECIC) festival partners from Portugal, France, Spain and Italy.
With thanks to the festival sponsors and to the fabulous, ever-expanding team of volunteers. A truly communal effort and brilliant result. With thanks to Shane Vaughan for the excellent videography and editing.
The Kino, The Long Valley Bar, The Evening Echo (our media partners), The Arts Council,
Foras na Gaeilge, Dunnes Stores, Forum Publications, Colmcille, Arc Publications, Isaacs Hotel,
Cork City Council, Poetry Ireland, UCC English Dept, Italian Department, Casilac, Italee Café,
The Natural Foods Bakery, The Quay Co-op and Paradiso.
Jane Commane, Peter Raynard, Michelle Delea and Ali Bracken.
In 2018 Ó Bhéal welcomed Coventry poets Jane Commane and Peter Raynard to Cork, then Cork poets Michelle Delea and Ali Bracken made their way over to Coventry for the Peace festival. With thanks to St. Mary’s College, California we were able to assist Leanne O’Sullivan’s visit to San Francisco.
This year’s twinning activities were funded by the Cork & Coventry City Councils and St.Mary’s College, California.
14th October 2018
Our congratulations to filmmaker Álvaro Martín from Valladolid, Spain, whose film set in Paris Accident de Personne is Ó Bhéal’s 6th poetry-film competition winner, as announced at the IndieCork Festival awards ceremony. Álvaro’s film won amid very tough competition from 31 other shortlisted entries representing 17 countries, the details of which you can view here. Our special thanks to all the poets and filmmakers who submitted this year. A record 193 films were submitted from 33 countries.
Poem: Accident de Personne by Álvaro Martín
Synopsis – We create metaphors in order to mention facts we don’t want to talk about.
Director: Alvaro Martin (Spain)
Born in Valladolid, Spain, with a degree in Philosophy by the University of Salamanca, Álvaro Martín is interested in all kinds of art, especially in cinema and literature. In 2011 he created the movie production company Dream Zero Films (www.dreamzerofilms.com), he has directed several film shorts under that brand, like The Adorable Tenant (2013), Stockholm (2013), Disintegration (2014) or Cinema Roxy (2014).
“A thought-provoking, well-structured meditation on what it means to exist and to die by one’s own hand, to feel overwhelmingly alone in a word of endless connectivity. Serious issues are expertly raised in just 3.5 minutes, with deptively simple language.
Our hearty congratulations to Jill Munro, this year’s Five Words International Poetry Competition winner, for her beautiful poem, Ptarmigan. Jill’s poem was published in Five Words Vol XI, launched at our 11th anniversary event on April 16th 2018.
Our warm congratulations also to all of the poets who had shortlisted entries, and for the highly commended entries from Margaret McCarthy and from previous competition winner Derek Sellen. Thanks to everyone who sent in entries, which increased slightly to 293, and our warm thanks to judges Kathy D’Arcy and Rab Urquhart for their hard work in teasing out a very strong shortlist and worthy winner.
| Ptarmigan | by Jill Munro (England) winner | |
| Among Starlings | by Margaret McCarthy (Ireland) highly commended | |
| A Dream of my Dead Grandmother | ||
| in the Modern Art Museum | by Derek Sellen (England) highly commended | |
| Disciplining the Modern Satyr | by Mary-Jane Holmes (England) | |
| Nothing To See | by Giles Constable (England) | |
| How We Are | by Ted O’Regan (Ireland) | |
| Writing for the Ó Bhéal | ||
| Open-Mic | by Jim Crickard (Ireland) | |
| Amber | by Ted O’Regan (Ireland) | |
| Reindeer Moss | by Tamara Miles (U.S.A.) | |
| Every Sunday Ever | by Kirsten Irving (England) | |
| Centenary | by Ted O’Regan (Ireland) | |
| My Mother’s Birthplace | by Tamara Miles (U.S.A.) | |
The shortlisted and winning poems will appear in Five Words Vol XI, to be launched at Ó Bhéal on Monday the 16th of April 2018, along with the award presentation and readings from contributors. The 6th Five Words International Competition will commence at noon on Tuesday the 17th of April, 2018.
The 5th Winter Warmer festival was the biggest yet and found its full stride in its new home, The Village Hall, a fantastic venue overlooking the Lee. With fine audiences and cheer throughout the weekend.
Exemplary readings and performances by guests Edward O’Dwyer, Niamh Prior, Richard Lambert, Frank Golden, Keith Payne, Jen Matthews, Biddy Jenkinson, Brendan Cleary, Ken Marshall, Órfhlaith Foyle, Felicia Olusanya, Stephen James Smith, Inma Moya Pavon, George Harding, Caitríona Ní Chléirchín, James O’Sullivan, Mary Noonan, Daniel Salgado, Rody Gorman, Stephen Watts, Billy Ramsell, Adnan Al-Sayegh, Stephen Sexton, Catherine Ann Cullen and Sophie Mayer, along with poems from the closed mic session by Julie Aldridge, Ali Bracken, Shaunna Lee Lynch, Rishtí Mac Piarais, Jim Crickard, Mel White, Megan Cronin and Grace Piotrowski.
With thanks to the festival sponsors and to the fabulous, ever-expanding team of volunteers. A truly communal effort and brilliant result. With thanks to Shane Vaughan for the excellent videography and editing.
The Long Valley Bar, The Village Hall, The Evening Echo (our media partners), The Arts Council,
Foras na Gaeilge, Farmgate Market Café, Dunnes Stores, Forum Publications, Colmcille,
Arc Publications, Isaacs Hotel, Cork City Council, Poetry Ireland, UCC English Dept,
The Natural Foods Bakery, The Quay Co-op and Paradiso.
