This year Poetry Ireland, rather than sending a Christmas card, is using the money to start beehive farms as part of Trócaire’s Global Gift Campaign.
Click for more information on Trócaire’s Global Gift Campaign
Poetry Ireland will be closed from Wednesday 22 December 2010 and will reopen on Wednesday 5 January 2011. Wishing you all a Happy Holiday and looking forward to an exciting New Year. Nollaig Shona agus Athbhliain faoi Mhaise Daoibh.
Eclectica is now entering the final weeks of its exhibition, ‘Eclectica: Patterns, Visions and Natural Forms‘ by west Cork-based artists Eamonn Harris and Maureen O’Connor. The colourful collection will remain on view and available for purchase at the Cafe up until the Christmas week. The prints are drawn from the artists’ large catalogue of original paintings, drawings and photographs, addressing themes of nature and the natural world, mysticism and spiritual union. All are available hand-mounted onto woodblock, creating a unique and attractive craft product, and as prints on fine art paper. Prices are affordable, ranging from €25 to €40, so do come and view before they disappear.
The University of Edinburgh are requesting applications for the part-time combined position of Writer-in-Residence and Creative Writing tutor.
Visit here for further details, the deadline for applications is the December 17.
Conall Morrison has recently been appointed as Theatre Artist-in-Residence at the Pavilion Theatre, Dún Laoghaire, funded by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and the Arts Council. This Residency will take place in 2011/2012 and will involve several strands.
As part of his residency Conall will be starting up a playwrights’ scriptwriting group based in the Pavilion Theatre from the end of January, which will run for the duration of the residency.
As well as directing many productions for the Abbey Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company, Conall has experience of developing new plays and teaching playwrighting. He has worked on new plays with writers such as Tom Murphy, Tom MacIntyre and Marina Carr, amongst others. Participants will meet together roughly once a month to analyse each other’s work and to explore a wide range of the disciplines involved in writing for theatre.
Places in the group are strictly limited, so if you are interested please submit a finished play or substantial extract from a work in progress for consideration to:
Conall Morrison, Theatre Artist in Residence, Pavilion Theatre, Marine Road, Dún Laoghaire.
There is no fee for participants, but there may be some photocopying costs.
Closing date for submissions is 5.30pm Friday 7th January 2011.
The Moore Institute Visiting Fellowship (2011-2012) at the National University of Ireland, Galway, is offering an opportunity to apply, closing date is 1st March 2011. These fellowships may be held in any field of the Humanities and Social Sciences, can be academic or practice related, and are offered in association with the James Hardiman Library. Fellowship terms can last from one week to one semester.
The Moore Institute for Research in the Humanities and Social Studies will host fellows during their tenure. Its work is supported by the Andrew Mellon Foundation, the Marie Curie scheme, the Irish Research Council in the Humanities and Social Sciences, and the Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions. For a list of people, events, and current projects visit here.
The James Hardiman Library has significant archives, including the papers of the Druid Theatre, Lyric Theatre, An Taibhdhearc (the Irish language
national theatre), John McGahern, Thomas Kilroy and Joe Burke, as well as two major collections dealing with the recent ‘Troubles’, principally the papers of Ruairí Ó Brádaigh and Brendan Duddy.
The Library possesses substantial printed and electronic resources. The University’s longstanding commitment to the Irish language provides further opportunities for engaging with the Connemara Gaeltacht. Visiting fellows will have access to all the major repositories on the island of Ireland.Details on terms, condition, and how to apply for a Moore Institute Visiting Fellowship are available here.
The Moore Institute Visiting Fellowships are supported by the Galway University Foundation,the James Hardiman Library,the Office of the Vice
President for Research, and the College of Arts,Social Sciences and Celtic Studies.
In the New Year Galway Arts Centre is offering aspiring poets a choice of three poetry workshops, all facilitated by poet Kevin Higgins, whose best-selling first collection, ‘The Boy With No Face’, published by Salmon Poetry, was short-listed for the 2006 Strong Award for Best First Collection by an Irish poet. Kevin’s second collection of poems, ‘Time Gentlemen, Please’, was published in 2008 by Salmon Poetry and his poetry is discussed in the Cambridge Introduction to Modern Irish Poetry. His third collection ‘Frightening New Furniture’ was published in April by Salmon and his work also appears in the generation defining anthology Identity Parade –New British and Irish Poets (Ed. Roddy Lumsden, Bloodaxe, 2010).
Kevin is an experienced workshop facilitator and several of his students have gone on to achieve publication success. One of his workshop participants at Galway Arts Centre won the prestigious Hennessy Award for New Irish Poetry, while several have published collections of their poems. Kevin is also co-organiser of the successful Over The Edge reading series which specialises in promoting new writers.
Each workshop will run for ten weeks, commencing the week of January 17th. They will take place on Tuesday evenings, 7-8.30pm (first class January 18th); on Thursday afternoons, 2-4pm (first class January 20th) and on Friday afternoons, 2-3.30pm (first class January 21st).
The Tuesday evening and Friday afternoon workshops are open to both complete beginners as well as those who’ve been writing for some time. The Thursday afternoon workshop is an Advanced Poetry Workshop, suitable for those who’ve participated in poetry workshops before or had poems published in magazines. The cost to participants is €110, with an €100 concession rate.
Places must be paid for in advance. To reserve a place contact Victoria at reception at Galway Arts Centre, 47 Dominick Street, phone 091 565886 or email victoria@galwayartscentre.ie
Susan Millar DuMars will give support, instruction and feedback to students who are interested in writing either fiction (short stories, novels) or poetry. The course takes place one evening per week (Wednesday) for 7 weeks from 7–9 p.m. The course commences on Wednesday, February 9th. Advance booking is essential. Places cost €95.00. For further details or to book a place contact GMIT, Dublin Road, Galway. Telephone 091-742145 or see here.
Susan was born in Philadelphia in 1966 to a Belfast-born mother. She holds an MA in Writing from the University of San Francisco. Her poems and short stories have been published widely in the US, UK and Ireland. Susan’s stories have been short-listed for many awards, and in 2005 she received an Irish Arts Council Bursary for her fiction. American Girls, a volume of her short stories, was published by Lapwing in 2007. Since 2003, Susan and her husband Kevin Higgins have organised the successful Over the Edge reading series, showcasing new writers. Susan teaches creative writing at Galway Technical Institute, Galway Arts Centre, Galway Mayo Institute of Technology and on the Brothers of Charity Away With Words programme. Big Pink Umbrella (Salmon Poetry, 2008) was the first full collection of her poetry. One of her poems was chosen by editor, Mathew Sweeney, for inclusion in Best of Irish Poetry 2010 (Southword Editions). Several of her poems feature in Landing Places: Immigrant Poets in Ireland, edited by Eva Bourke (Dedalus Press, March 2010). Her second collection of poems, Dreams for Breakfast, was published this April by Salmon Poetry. Her first full collection of short stories, Lights In The Distance, is published this December by Doire Press.
In the New Year Galway Arts Centre presents a daytime class for all those beginner and continuing creative writing students out there, both facilitated by Susan Millar DuMars. Susan Millar DuMars writes both poetry and fiction. A collection of her stories, Lights In The Distance, is just published by Doire Press; she has published two collection of poetry, Big Pink Umbrella (2008) and Dreams For Breakfast both with Salmon Poetry. She is also co-organiser of the Over The Edge reading series which specifically promotes new writers.
The class is suitable for both beginning and continuing creative writing students, working in either poetry or fiction. Students will spend their week responding to writing exercises designed to inspire, rather than inhibit. In class, they will receive gentle feedback on their work from their classmates and from the teacher. The class takes place on Monday afternoons, 2-3.30pm, commencing on Monday January 17th and runs for ten weeks.
The cost to participants is 110 Euro with an 100 Euro concession price. Booking is essential as places are limited. For booking please contact Galway Arts Centre, 47 Dominick Street, phone 091 565886 or email victoria@galwayartscentre.ie
The semi-finals and final of Poetry Aloud, due to take place this Friday 3 December, have been postponed due to adverse weather conditions across the country. The finals have been rescheduled for Friday 14 January 2011.
Looking forward to seeing the contestants in the New Year.
Creative Writing Ink have added new online creative writing courses to www.creativewriting.ie
In addition to this,there is a dedicated website for UK residents, www.creativewritingink.co.uk which offers online courses, editing and critique services, along with news on writing competitons and events in the UK.
Creative Writing Ink also run monthly writing competitions which are free to enter on both websites; a discussion forum; a members blog; a writing resources page; and an email newsletter with a monthly update on writing competitions and which publishers are accepting submissions.
The new schedule of online courses includes;
1. Beginners Creative Writing with Adam Wyeth (6 weeks)
2. Intermediate Creative Writing with Adam Wyeth (8 weeks)
3. Advanced Creative Writing with Geraldine Mills (6 weeks)
4. Novel Writing with Emer Martin (8 weeks)
5. How To Get Published with Sarah Franklin (4 weeks)
6. Writing for Children with Oisin McGann (6 weeks)
7. Poetry with Leanne O’Sullivan (6 weeks)
8. Screenwriting with Anne Barrett (6 weeks)
9. Memoir Writing with Ivy Bannister (6 weeks)
10. How to Blog with Niamh Griffin (4 weeks)
