UL Creative Writing Festival - a banquet of writers and word-music

It's Tuesday morning already and I’m still lingering in the lilt of language, in the spell of imagination cast by so many writers during the past, full weekend. It’s no exaggeration to say I’m trying to sustain the euphony of the UL Creative Writing Festival where we were treated to note-perfect readings by novelists, Kevin Barry, Lisa McInerney, Roddy Doyle, Kit de Waal, Sarah Moore Fitzgerald, Sheila Killian, Danielle McLaughlin, Louise Kennedy, Donal Ryan and Sebastian Barry – not to mention poets, Seán Hewitt, Kayssie K, Jane Clarke, Rachael Hegarty and Chiamaka Enyi-Amadi. I was honoured to be reading myself, along side Jane Clarke and Kayssie K on Saturday afternoon. Indeed, I wore a few hats: as poetry curator, introducing our guest poets, as a staff member of the teaching team on the MA in Creative Writing and as a reader and festival participant. Additional gems at the festival were the richly atmospheric, moving stories read by young authors from local secondary schools that collaborated with our MA students on the Creative Writers in the Community module, led by Prof. Eoin Devereux, and the official launch of the brand new issue of UL's own The Ogham Stone - a trove of poetry, prose and creative non-fiction. Don't hesitate to pick up your copy!

The camaraderie, love of written word and mutual support that flows between my Creative Writing colleagues and the MA students (and, dare I say, myself) danced luminously and infectiously around the Irish World Academy of Music; audiences sensed the magical atmosphere that exists on the MA in Creative Writing programme where great teaching goes hand-in-hand with true mentorship. The Festival - completely sold out for the weekend - was a roaring success with a closing event, on Sunday afternoon, which saw two maestros, Sebastian Barry and Donal Ryan, reading from their stunning works-in-progress (a first for the former, who usually shares only his published work with audiences) and introduced so warmly and memorably by another literary giant, gent and Festival Director, Joseph O'Connor. The queue for the book-signing table after was a mile long and many festival attendees retreated to the nearby campus 'Pavilion' restaurant just to stay in the orbit of word-music a little longer, to prolong the enchantment of the weekend. Sincere thanks to my brilliant, truly lovely colleagues and to the wonderful student volunteers for all their hard work, to the poets and writers who performed and spoke so generously and honestly about the writing life, sharing nuggets of wisdom we will remember, to Gráinne O'Brien of O'Mahony's Booksellers, and to everyone who contributed to this masterful Festival in any way, big or small. Here's to it all happening again in 2023! Below are a few photos captured over the course of the weekend, featuring 1) Kevin Barry and Lisa McInerney, 2) Rachael Hegarty, myself and Jane Clarke, 3) Donal Ryan, Kit de Waal, Roddy Doyle and Joseph O'Connor, 4) Rachael Hegarty, Seán Hewitt & Chiamaka Enyi-Amadi and lastly, 5) Jane Clarke, myself and Kayssie Kandiwa. You can also enjoy reading (or listening to) the vivid, witty and powerful story Kevin Barry read, "The Pub with No Beer", in April's edition of The New Yorker here)

Reading at the Eco Showboat Pavilion, Dromineer tomorrow

The Eco Showboat will dock at Dromineer harbour, Co. Tipperary tomorrow (Wednesday, 18 May) as part of Tipperary Bealtaine Festival. The brainchild of artists Anne Cleary and Denis Connolly of the innovative School of Looking, the duo have been working on the transformation of a century-old heritage barge into a zero-carbon vessel suitable for Eco Showboat expeditions on our inland waterways. A floating art studio and science lab, the solar-powered Eco Showboat aims to connect communities in building a zero-carbon future. I'm delighted to be reading with Eleanor Hooker tomorrow at the Poetry Pavilion alongside the Eco Showboat. A packed programme of free events is promised with registration in advance essential. See the event page here for all details. Hope you can join us!

Here's a poem of mine, on the theme of ecological awareness, that was published last year in the Empty House: Poetry and Prose on the Climate Crisis anthology (edited by Alice Kinsella and Nessa O'Mahony, Doire Press, 2021). "Adam's Apple" was inspired by the contrast between our Western myth of origins, which positions us as masters lording it over the Earth, and those of some First Nations peoples, whose beliefs have always been in much closer harmony with our planet. And how striking that one of our most famous economists in history was baptized 'Adam' Smith!