In Between Angels and Animals - my second collection - recently launched at Kenny's Bookshop, Galway

In Between Angels and Animals (Arlen House, 2013)

 Available from kennys.ie, thebookdepository.co.uk 

and many good bookshops throughout Ireland

Cover art: 'Static' by Alex Hall (www.alexhallart.com)

Read my interview with Kernan Andrews 

in The Galway Advertiser, 20 June 2013 here

Des Kenny welcoming all assembled at the launch on Saturday, 22 June, Kenny's Bookshop

The wonderful poet & activist, Sarah Clancy was guest speaker

Poets, Terry McDonagh and Lisa C. Taylor also launched their new collections (by Arlen House) 

Siobhán Nic Ghaoithín and little Conall - fascinated with my necklace

L-R  Caroline, Vera Orschel, Aileen Kavanagh & Mairéad Roche

Two beautiful ladies: my mother & poet, Geraldine Mills

Andrew Lohan and Rafa

With Sarah Clancy after her kind words about my book

Old & new friends who supported me - Don Phelan, Seán Lysaght, Catherine Paolucci, Becky Lally

A captive crowd

A proud daughter with her wonderful Dad

Mairéad Roche, Muireann Ní Dhroighneáin, my sister Tara and Blathnaid Mulholland

Dave Power and Muireann

My sister, Benita with June Boulger

Eoin Barrett and Elaine Keane

My great friend and fellow poet, Susan Kelly 



The first review of In Between Angels and Animals 

from The Lantern Review, No. 8, Summer 2013

Further responses from critics to In Between Angels and Animals (Arlen House, 2013):

Her poetic style is lyrical, intelligent and confident and the poems are searching in a sophisticated and detached way....She goes on to explore many subjects: love, exile, technology, all in a worldwide context…The poetry is erudite and far-reaching and, as the title suggests, it touches on the whole created universe, as the Elziabethans understood it! – Poetry Ireland Review, Issue 115, April 2015

She uses her words wisely and sparingly, with none wasted as emotions, images and thoughts are conjured up. - Books Ireland, March/April 2014

 

I recommend this collection wholeheartedly to all those interested in Irish writing in Irish and in English. - The Australasian Journal of Irish Studies, Vol. 13, 2013

Magdalene - a loaded brand and false signifier

Insomnia provokes this particular blog post. Specifically, a mind racing with our Taoiseach ('Prime Minister') Enda Kenny’s emotionally charged apology to the women of the Magdalene Laundries, and also with the broader concept of the female ‘penitent’. The Taoiseach’s speech was impressive in its genuine acknowledgement of the suffering and humiliation endured by the faceless women of the laundries. I believe his words were heartfelt. Crucially, Ireland and its institutions lacked the ‘quality of mercy’. Coming to terms with the darker chapters of our history, and taking responsibility for injustices perpetrated in the past, are welcome signs of a country attaining a new level of maturity and insight. No nation on earth has a spotless history and, while the plight of the magdalene women was utterly appalling, Kenny's speech signals that our government is taking the right steps to amend past wrongs. What continues to perplex me tonight, however, are the perversions committed in the name of Christianity, and the warped ways in which the Christian message was construed on our small island throughout the 1930s, 40s and 50s. The very concept of the ‘magdalene laundry’ calls to mind a tv documentary I once watched which questioned the identity of the real Mary Magdalene, as opposed to the legend. I remember being startled by the fact that the Catholic Church only chose to reveal, as late as the 1960s, that it had erroneously cast Mary Magdalene as a penitential prostitute for well over 1400 years. This was primarily because the iconic image of the remorseful ‘fallen woman’ was such a potent counterpoint to the purity of the Virgin Mary; it was a useful didactic symbol the Church moulded for its flock. Also, within a highly patriarchal institution, the Magdalene illusion of the weeping woman conveniently collapsed the power and complexity of the real Mary Magdalene – a highly significant disciple of Jesus Christ and, if we are to believe the gnostic gospels, a principal leader of the early christian movement.

Allegedly, the confusion surrounding Mary Magdalene’s character initially arose because of the preponderance of ‘Marys’ in the Bible and much got 'lost in translation'! Pope Gregory I identified Mary Magdalene as being the same person as Mary of Bethany, who really was a remorseful prostitute. (Excuse my lack of citations here - unscholarly, I know, but it's late at night and I am working from memory and gazing, bleary-eyed, into my screen). This misinterpretation altered Mary Magdalene’s image for successive centuries and it was not corrected until relatively late in the day. The weeping prostitute suited the Church’s purposes in providing a kind of template for the remorseful sinner who could attain forgiveness, and even the ultimate endorsement: sainthood! The horrible stigma of ‘penitent’ which was attached to the women of the Magdalene laundries was, therefore, not least inhumane and devoid of compassion, but also tautological and flawed from the outset.

The Catholic Church has become an easy target, however, and I have no wish to join the legions of lazy thinkers who will readily bash the institution on the slimmest of pretexts, or without substantial evidence to support their shibboleths. I know many wonderful men and women who minister as part of the Catholic church and who effect positive change in society through their selfless dedication and pursuit of Christian values. I do not believe they would, or ever could, inflict suffering on another human being. Similarly, the Marist nuns who educated me in Carrick-on-Shannon were kind and gentle women. Indeed, writers and artists as diverse as Jean Rhys, Mira Nair and Germaine Greer attest to the positive influence of the nuns who educated them so broadly; independent women who encouraged them to think for themselves. I digress here, however, so will return to the subject which spawned this spiral of insomnia: the provenance of the Magdalene laundry concept. Plenty more food for thought here for the next few sleepless hours methinks…

The Galway Review

Greetings to friends far and wide and an especially big shout out to Kevin H - I promise to reply to your message soon! Life has been busy of late as I have rejoined the working world and am back, full-time in academic administration. Lecturing posts in my area are thin on the ground, but the administrative side is an attractive option too, as you are still in the orbit of ideas, but don't have to grade a hefty pile of scripts! I do miss teaching alot though, but now I hope to have some time to focus on my writing (and reading and music) in the evenings. I'm all about the extra-curricular! Speaking of which, I have just had four poems, about my beloved Galway, published in The Galway Review. They are quite playful and try to capture some of the competing confusions and unbridled joys of new motherhood. Hope you like them and thanks for reading.

Australian Poem of the Week!

So I'm finally getting around to posting my first blog since jumping hemispheres and making the big leap from Galway to Melbourne - a fantastic metropolis which I will be writing alot more about soon in frequent 'Snapshots from Melbourne'. I awoke to good news today: my poem entitled 'Primavera' has been selected as 'Poem of the Week' by the Australian Poetry organisation. You can read the poem here  Enjoy! (It's Spring down unda and the air is getting milder).

Burning Bush II Journal Online

The Burning Bush 2 - a fresh, quality Irish journal publishing contemporary writing - has been relaunched as an online journal, and yours truly is delighted to have a poem featured in Issue 1. My poem entitled, 'Love and Milk' can be read here. 

The Burning Bush 2  is an online project that publishes new and innovative work from contemporary poets and writers in Ireland and the rest of the anglophone world. There will be four issues spread over one year. Here are the details regarding submissions: The deadline for issue 3, to be published in July, is 1st June 2012. Send no more than 4 poems, in the body of an email with “Poetry – Your Name” as the subject heading to burningbusrevival@gmail.com. A short biographical note should also be included. Please allow 4 to 6 weeks for a decision. There are no restrictions on style, themes etc. Do not send attachments unless requested. Good luck!

Sisterly Pride

I am very proud of my youngest sister, Margot, whose chic, fresh and edgy designs were worn at the Oscars by UTV presenter, Tina Campbell recently. See the following clip where the glamorous Tina reports from the awards ceremony and proudly announces that she's sporting Margot's dresses!

Political poetry in Ireland: A consideration

With the Irish general election looming on Friday, 25th February, there is a bit of an elephant in the room for many of us Irish poets who feel somewhat uneasy that our writing has not been as engagé as it might have been. While there are solid traditions of protest poetry in other parts of the world such as Russia, Persia and Latin America, Irish poetry is often criticised for not being sufficiently engaged with the injustices and inequities of our political system and society. I would like to open a discussion here about poems that are politically engaged, how they work as literary texts and function as ethical documents. My own personal opinion is that poetry is, first and foremost, an art form and poems that aim to critique politics should also display real literary skill and operate on an artistic level that is beyond a mere didactic platform. I also believe that poetry is a vehicle for truth and, as such, it should aim to highlight injustice in society and government where possible. However, while many of us are capable of writing satirical, political rhymes that critique the shibboleths of Irish politicians, the corruption of greedy bankers and planners in the construction industry, etc. it is a significant challenge to do this well. How and when would these texts constitute accomplished poetry and art? Would they help to alter popular opinion among Irish voters and influence policy makers? I am genuinely interested in debating this question. From my own experience I've found that it is somewhat rare to encounter Irish poetry that attempts to be politically engaged which also impresses as quality literature.  However, this is merely my own individual opinion and I am open to debate on this topic. Over the years I have read a number of highly skilled political poems by international writers such as Gioconda Belli, Osip Mandelstam, Anna Akhmatova, etc. and also protest poetry in various collections by Amnesty and other such organisations which have touched me deeply and remained with me. These poems were not propaganda; their power issued from the transformative ability of the imagination to evoke a reality with which the reader could empathise. Closer to home, too, there is evidence of literary dexterity among some of the poems published by the Irish Left Review However, there are also some weaker poems that don't quite work as literature. This brings us neatly back to the age-old vexatious question about 'what constitutes literature' and so I would like throw open the discussion at this point and welcome all your comments. Why have we such a weak culture of political poetry in Ireland? Have you read many (or indeed any) truly memorable poems that spurred you to, for example, vote differently, question prevailing discourses, moved you to effect change or act on something? If so, I'd love to hear about them here and please do share! If not, perhaps it is timely to discuss why this is the case in such a literary country, and how effective poetry is as an agent of change in Ireland. Is our tradition of political poetry so ineffective because we are apathetic to its message? Or is it the case that the currency of such poetry is much stronger in countries where basic human rights such as freedom of speech and freedom to vote for whomever one pleases are under threat? Many of the political poets I admire have been arrested for their writings and perhaps there is a greater respect for the quiet, personal medium of poetry and its ability to articulate injustice in other countries where freedom of expression is curtailed by the state-controlled media. Is Irish political poetry doomed to fall on indifferent ears in our so-called 'democracy' where - typically - we lazily keep on voting in the same tradition as our families have always done and we don't react until the crisis is on our doorstep? Isn't there much more at stake now for the economic future of this island than there has been in many many years and shouldn't we poets be taking a stand? Orwell's words resonate: "The opinion that art should have nothing to do with politics is itself a political attitude." All thoughts are welcome!