Eileen Casey
- County
- Dublin
- Genre
- Poet, Short-Story Writer
- Sessions
- Reading and Q&A, Discussion with Writer, Creative Writing Workshop
- Age Group
- 7 - 10, 11-15, 16 - 18
- Level
- Primary, Post Primary
- Languages
- Works in English ONLY
- Availability
- Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
Mornings, Afternoons - Travel
- Yes
Publications/Repertoire/Productions & Background Experience
Publications include four books of poetry (two of which are collaborations with Visual Artist Emma Barone), a short story collection, two books of prose writing. Also, my work regularly appears in magazines and journals.
In 2013, I attended a Grundtvig Learning Initiative (‘Come Share the Story’) in Denmark with a team of international storytellers discovering new and interesting techniques to spark stories.
I’ve had a number of Poetry in Public Places Exhibitions (Seagulls, Reading Fire, Writing Flame, The Jane Austen Sewing Kit, Poetry on the Wall, A Ship in Full Sail) using photography, fabric, colour, tealeaves, tree-leaves). These projects, as I initially refer to them, are an enjoyable, playful, way of extending one art form into another. Children love the tactile nature of assembling and putting together the various elements.
South of the County: New Myths and Tales (a re-shaping of myths and legends based around local landscape) was devised and edited by me in 2010, supported by EBS Community Fund and South Dublin Libraries. This material is very suitable for children and young adults alike, encouraging the exploration of community and locality through the prism of landscape features. Inventing a reason for the existence of a particular landmark sparks the imaginative process in new and exciting ways.
Over the years, I’ve facilitated creative writing workshops with Children’s Arts Festivals, in South Dublin and The Hullabaloo Festival in the Midlands where I’m from originally. Happy as Butter, a children’s poetry anthology was published as a result of AltEnts Children’s Arts Festival (2012).
A Hennessy Literary Award Winner (Emerging Fiction) and a recipient of a Katherine and Patrick Kavanagh Fellowship, I hold an M.Phil in Creative Writing from The School of English, Trinity College, Dublin. 'Warriors' (from If Ever you Go, (Dedalus Press) features in Great Expectations, a Junior Certificate textbook. My poem 'Black Ball Gown' (from If Ever you Go, (Dedalus Press)can be accessed on the following websites: cityofwords.storymap.ie/the-black-ball-gown . Black Ball Gown - youtube.com .
Session Details
(It can be useful to give an idea of how your usual or ideal session would pan out) I offer both fiction and poetry workshops. I believe in the power of creative play (using visual objects/storytelling devices which encourages class participation). In a relaxed atmosphere, student writers are encouraged to engage with the possibilities of language and shape. Transforming a simple story from life experience to story generates lively ideas and discussion on the various elements of fiction. Team participation is encouraged, a relay story, for example, can demonstrate the power of each individual’s unique imaginative thinking. Poetry workshops are focused on exploring the differences between prose and poetry; how reeling out a line of words/comparisons/contrasts ‘catches the image fish,’ an enjoyable and vibrant experience. Reading of course is encouraged and a brief discussion of reading choices will always feature.
Age Group Details
I can work with age groups varying from 8 years to 18 years.
- Telephone
- 01-4524227
- .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)