There is no one way to write poetry. The great thing about poetry is that it can come in all shapes, sizes and forms and helps us to question what those forms might be. But if you’re looking for some inspiration, here are some of our favourite ways to kick-start the poetry process. Capture a moment Sometimes people think on a large scale, but some of the most effective poetry captures a moment and harnesses the emotions for the audience …
There is a real treat coming up for all poets across Ireland this month, as Poetry Day is taking place nationwide. Poetry Day Ireland is a major one-day festival of Irish poets and poetry at home and abroad. It celebrates poetry, which is intrinsically linked to our Irish identities. From Yeats to Kavanagh, McCormack to Muldoon, Ireland is a hot spot for all things poetic. When is it? In 2017, Poetry Day will be celebrated on Thursday, April 27th and …
On today’s blog, we have an interview with poet, Joanie Browne. Joanie recently published a collection of poems about life, view through the lens of laughter and love. “I came to creative writing while doing a back to education course.” She said. “I am an early school leaver and was attending a Health Care Course, when one of my tutors noticed that I may have a talent for writing. While I had always found it easy, I had never …
Getting Your Poet’s House in Order You’ve built up a lot of poems, on a range of themes and subjects; maybe over a long period of time. You may also have taken a break from writing poetry and come back to it again. You’ve now got a selection of poetry some of which may be handwritten, some printed out and some sitting in random desktop files. What do you do with them? We’ve taken a look at lots of different …
Aoife O’Toole’s most recent collection of poetry, Life’s Reflecting Words – Wish Upon a Star, released through selfpublishbooks.ie is one which she has taken time to get around to. In her own words; “For years I neglected my talent. But a change in events brought me back writing again, something which over the last year, I’ve enjoyed immensely”. O’Toole had been writing poems and songs since she was a child, but her creative life had been on the back burner for some …
Thinking of penning that first poem, but not quite sure where to start? Poetry is a wonderful genre, but it can take some time to get used to creating the voice, theme and tempo you want. At selfpublishbooks.ie, we’ve put together some simple tips to get you started. Ten Tips to Getting Your Poet’s Voice 1. Read – Read all kinds of poetry, from classical to beat, home grown to international and from a range of eras. …
Poems from an Open Heart Tom White’s new poetry collection, Open Heart Surgery, published with selfpublishbooks.ie is nothing if not varied. Put together following a hospital stay and dedicated to the staff in Galway University Hospital, this is a trip through a wonderful range of topics and thoughts. Tom says that without the hospital staff, the book itself wouldn’t exist, but don’t let the title fool you. Once you delve in, you’ll see an eclectic mix of poems with titles as …
Poetry has been the outlet that Sean has used to express himself since he was nine years old. Born in England to Irish immigrant parents, Sean experienced what he believes to be religious indoctrination and miss-education. Poetry helped him deal with the frustration of what he saw as a society perpetrated and controlled by a mainstream media. These early poems were not lost to time, they were saved and some are still performed if you ask Sean to do so. …
Amy’s life journey has thus far taken her down many fascinating pathways including completing her degree in Business Studies, appearing on School around the Corner receiving the Children of Courage Award, meeting many famous and interesting people, but none prouder than working on her own collection of poetry and getting them to print. She lives with a severe disability, in medical terms ‘Congenital Defect’ but in simple terms she was born without legs from below the knee and without hands …
“I’ve always had a love for the sound of language,” Patrick says. “As a child and teenager I would regularly take down one of the four volumes of The Imperial Dictionary of the English Language from the shelf in our living room and read it. This had belonged to my paternal grandfather who died when my father was 7 or 8 years old. I was enthralled by the little lithographs scattered throughout its pages to illustrate some obscure word, and …