Emily Cullen's Blog, page 2

Final places left on The Craft of Poetry Writing online course - starting Thursday

There are a couple of places left on my new 'Craft of Poetry Writing' course which begins at 7pm this Thursday, 7 October. The course delivery is online, via Zoom and each session runs until 8:30pm. To bag your place, click on the short courses Eventbrite page here. (A recent cyber attack on the NUI Galway website wreaked a bit of havoc and the previous links for registration are currently undergoing maintenance). I can't wait to embark on another creative adventure with a new group of budding and emerging poets. If you think someone you know may be interested, please spread the word.

Autumn Poetry Course at the Centre for Adult Learning at NUI Galway and Recent Poetry Projects

It's that time of year again when our thoughts turn to new opportunities for lifelong learning, developing skills or delving deeper into our favourite pastimes and activities. I'm delighted to share that I will be teaching 'The Craft of Poetry' again for the Centre for Adult Education, NUI Galway. This 8-week course starts at 7pm on Thursday, 7 October and booking will close over the next few days. There are a few final places left, so don't delay if you are thinking of registering! During the spring semester I was fortunate to facilitate this course for a really talented, vibrant group of people - a mix of beginners and improvers - and we had immense fun each week, exploring great contemporary poetry, sharing new drafts and honing our craft together. That course was a great success and it was wonderful to learn that the participants have kept the group going in their own time and are actively sending work out for publication, and even winning prizes already. Ger Duffy, I'm thinking of you - heartiest congratulations again! So to say that I am looking forward to working with a new group of emerging poets as we embark on this course is an understatement! If you would like to know more about 'The Craft of Poetry Writing', you can read the description below and view the course booklet here for more information: At the start of the Summer, I was one of five Galway-based poets invited to participate in an exciting project on the theme of climate change; the initiative involved the creation of poetry with schoolchildren to build a 'Wall of Words' for a 'Climate of Hope.' It was a pleasure to collaborate with Miss Evans and her lively, engaged groups in third and fourth class at Castlegar National School in May and June and a privilege to inspire and empower budding poets to express their voices on this crucial topic. The pupils composed an eye-opening variety of wish poems, list poems and animal poems - both as a group and individually - that reflected on the impact of climate change on our planet and envisioned steps we can take to nurture a brighter future. Focusing on our connection to nature and on positive climate action, the project clearly aided the students in developing their understanding of how human choices can affect their environment. All of the childrens' poems were displayed in the Eyre Square Centre for Cruinniú na nÓg on Saturday, 12 June and have been up for all to view and enjoy since then. Sincere thanks to Creative Ireland Galway City, Galway Public Libraries, Clarice Evans at Castlegar National School and the children of third and fourth class for a memorable experience which enriched our understanding, through poetry and art, of the long-term causes and effects of global warming, rising sea levels, extreme weather events and the thinning ozone layer. In accordance with the project goals, our 'Climate of Hope' succeeeded in "enhancing the creative and imaginative lives of young people on a topic of vital importance for our planet and one that will make a lasting impact on the collaborators and spectators it connects with - at a time when connection is more important than ever." We had lots of great fun along the way and I was advised by some of the pupils to set myself up as 'the poetry person' on TikTok! You never know, I may well heed their suggestions yet... Emily Cullen, poet-in-residence with Clarice Evans, teacher of 3rd and 4th class, Castlegar National School at the 'Wall of Words' in the Eyre Square Shopping Centre

Summer Poetry Course - new start date

New Summer online course, The Craft of Poetry, starts next Wednesday

Summer online poetry course… starting soon

“Poetry is the music of being human,” wrote Carol Ann Duffy, memorably. She also observed that “you can find poetry in your everyday life, your memory, in what people say on the bus, in the news, or just what’s in your heart.” Would you like to devote more time to attuning to the music of your humanity this Summer? Would you like to uncover and shape the poetry that is latent in your everyday world? James Tate rightly observed that “poetry is everywhere, it just needs editing.” I am delighted to announce that I will be facilitating another online poetry course focused on the craft of poetry starting in mid-June and running for six weeks. While the course is aimed at emerging poets or those who have some experience writing poetry and may have recently started to publish their poems, more advanced writers will also find stimulation and encouragement. As someone who thoroughly enjoys teaching courses on Creative Writing (I have taught undergraduate students and adult learners at the University of Melbourne, NUI Galway and online from home) during the past few years, I agree with poet, Theodore Roethke's observation that "teaching is an act of love, a spiritual cohabitation, one of the few sacred relationships left in a crass secular world." For this online course, you will enjoy creating new work within a warm and supportive atmosphere. We will begin at 7pm on Wednesday, 9 June with duration of about an hour - 1 hour 15 mins. To find out more and book your place, please contact me now on: emilycullendavison@gmail.com.

Take 5 for poetry each day during Poetry Month!

Another gorgeous initiative from Galway Public Libraries - Take 5 for poetry - started at 11am today with Galway's own Gerry Hanberry reading his stunning poem, "On Nimmo's Pier". I'm delighted to be part of this 'Community of Reciters' and my own poem, "Through the Cracks", will be going out at 1pm on Saturday, 24 April and again as part of the feast of poetry on National Poetry day, Thursday, 29 April. Tune in on Galway Public Libraries Facebook and Instagram whenever you can to get your "espresso shot of thought", (to quote poet Daljit Nagra on what a poem is). The daily poetry slot times are 11am, 1pm and 4pm and the full schedule is below. Thursday 22nd April 11.00am Gerry Hanberry 4.00pm Joan Finnegan Friday 23rd April11.00am Elaine Feeney 4.00pm Danny McDonnell Saturday 24th April11.00am Kevin Higgins 1.00pm Emily Cullen 4.00pm Bernie McGuire Sunday 25th April11.00am Susan Miller duMars 1.00pm Luke Morgan 4.00pm Joan Hardiman Monday 26th April11.00am Moya Roddy 4.00pm Carmel Dempsey Tuesday 27th April11.00am Pete Mullineaux 4.00pm Mary Donoghue Wednesday 28th April11.00am Nuala O’Connor 1.00pm Mary Mannion 4.00pm Teresa Dempsey Thursday 29th April – Poetry Ireland Day schedule9.00am Kevin Higgins 9.30am Joan Hardiman 10.00am Emily Cullen 10.30am Jimi McDonnell 11.00am Gerry Hanberry 11.30am Mary Mannion 12.00pm Moya Roddy 12.30pm Teresa Dempsey 1.00pm Louis de Paor 1.30pm Bernie McGuire 2.00pm Elaine Feeney 2.30pm Carmel Dempsey 3.00pm Pete Mullineaux 3.30pm Joan Finnegan 4.00pm Susan Miller duMars 4.30pm Mary Donoghue 5.00pm Luke Morgan 5.30pm Nuala O’Connor

Poetry news update – three new poems coming soon

Happy Poetry Month! It has certainly been a strange time of flux for the creative impulse during the past year. Like many others, I worried, during the first lockdown, that my pull towards poetry would be compromised - even indefinitely suspended. With universal pandemic anxiety, fear of the unknown and our national sense of grief for the casualties of covid-19, making new art was no longer a priority; it became something I genuinely jostled with. In the depths of the prevailing stasis, however, I found that my hunger for reading poetry had in no way subsided. And little by little, my appetite to create my own new work reawakened, so that when “Henrietta’s Confession” was published in the June 2020 issue of The Honest Ulsterman, I actually did a little happy dance. Subsequently, when I was invited by Galway Contemporary Music Project to compose a poem in response to Debussy’s string quartet, I was truly excited to take up the ekphrastic challenge. Indeed, I’ve written a short article about this experience elsewhere on this blog. By that stage, I was making my peace with lockdowns, recognising that, in spite of all, the seasons remained constant around me and life went on, albeit in a radically altered world. I also published a poem for a dear new friend, Cassie, whom I met immediately prior to the first lockdown, and about our friendship which flourished, in spite of the challenges of social distancing, and this poem appeared on that wonderful nurturing blog, Pendemic. Lastly, I wrote an essay on the value of literary citizenship which appeared in issue 13 of Skylight 47, a journal I greatly admire. Unsurprisingly, there were dodgy, existential covid-anxiety poems along the road too, but on the whole, I kept the pen moving, without forcing the words forth on stickier days. And so, when the year turned, and we had survived, all things poetic seemed to be looking up considerably. Since early February of this year, I’ve been teaching ‘The Craft of Poetry’ to a dedicated, vibrant group of poets for the Centre for Adult Education at NUI Galway and that conversation with a community of writers has been wholly energising. And I’m also delighted to share with you that three newly composed poems will be coming out shortly. Firstly, my poem “Ode to Blue Cheese” will feature in issue 14 of Skylight 47, due to be launched in early May. I certainly indulged my love of cheese varieties during the three consecutive lockdowns, and sometimes we just have to eulogise the little things that keep us going, don't we? Hopefully that ode supremo, Pablo Neruda (1904-1973), won't be turning in his grave! My poem, “Adam’s Apple” features in a brand new anthology about climate change that has just come out from the wonderful Doire Press: Empty House: poems and prose on the climate crisis and which is due to be launched on Earth Day, 22 April. See invitation to this online launch below and please do join us! My poem was inspired by the observation that creation myths in First Nation cultures tend to be much closer to the natural world, and in much greater harmony to it, than our own Western myth of origins, which positions us as masters lording it over earth and the food chain. Last but not least, I was recently commissioned by Strokestown Poetry Festival to compose a poem on the theme of ‘new beginnings’ as the country slowly starts to re-open and as more and more people are safely vacinated against covid-19. My poem, “Summering” takes inspiration from that famous quote, once uttered by Seamus Heaney, which gave solace to many through the various stages of the pandemic: “If we winter this one out, we can Summer anywhere.” But that’s about all I can divulge at this stage as a recording of the poem will be going out on the Strokestown Poetry Festival website during the festival between 1-2 May. Stay tuned for further updates soon. In the meantime, thanks so much for checking in, stay safe and enjoy Poetry Month to the full!

Nuala O'Connor is my final guest for the Women Writers of the West online book club

In the final two weeks of the 'Women Writers of the West' online book club we will be discussing Nuala O'Connor's Becoming Belle - a gorgeous novel based on the life of Isabel Bilton - the entertainer in Victorian London who lived on Garbally estate, Co. Galway after she married her Viscount of the Clancarty earls. It's a wonderfully rich read, full of period detail and depicting a vibrant life. I got my copy in Charlie Byrnes and you should be able to get your hands on a copy from any of the book shops. Nuala will also give us a sneak preview into her latest highly acclaimed novel, NORA - about Galway's own Nora Barnacle - in the final session too. Don't miss the chance for more book-lover's camaraderie in an atmosphere that is equal parts fun, sociable and informative! Register for your free place here. #womenwritersofthewest #galwaypubliclibraries In other, somewhat related, news all four sessions of the previous online book club I facilitated for Galway Public Librares - 'Journeys in Words - From Galway to Dublin' - exploring the short fiction of Maeve Brennan and Liam O'Flaherty are now up on the Galway Public Libraries Youtube channel and can be enjoyed at your leisure. In the final session I had the pleasure of speaking to Dr. Maurice Casey about the life, times and politics of Liam O'Flaherty as well as about the translations of his work in soviet Russia. Casey has fascinating new research on O'Flaherty and you can enjoy our discussion at the link below. Thank you to all our special guests during the course of the 'Journeys in Words' book club and to everyone who participated and contributed to the success of this immensely enjoyable textual voyage.

On International Women's Day - reflecting on the recovery of women's voices

Not only has the historical record often underestimated the contribution of women to society, but art can also be guilty of this travesty, consciously or unconsciously. The title poem of my debut poetry collection, "No Vague Utopia", is a short monologue in the voice of Eva Gore-Booth who is politely, but adroitly, addressing W.B. Yeats beyond the grave (since he was so taken with communication from the spirit world!). Eva (1870-1926) was a poet, dramatist, suffragist, committed social worker and labour activist who was especially vocal about the conditions for women workers in the cotton factories in England. Yet, in his poem "In Memory of Eva Gore-Booth and Con Markievicz" Yeats writes about Eva: "I know not what the younger dreams - / Some vague Utopia...". His wistful and understandably human nostalgia for by-gone days still glosses over Eva's achievement as she is memorialised as a vague dreamer, now wizened and gaunt. Should Con and Eva have frozen in time by the great windows of Lissadell, eternally youthful and gazelle-like in their silk kimonos just to placate Yeats's aesthetic reverie? My poem is a gentle riposte to Yeats as Eva seeks to make the point that her life and vision did not amount to 'some vague utopia.' No Vague Utopia was published by Ainnir Publishing in 2003 and I hope you enjoy this poem. Happy International Women's Day and here's to the ongoing recovery of all those important female voices muted by history, patriarchy, art....!

Between a rock and a soft place

A bit of a magpie, I’ve always been fascinated by gemstones; by their colours, textures and especially their exotic names. Some time ago, during my years as a doctoral researcher, I found myself working in a jewellery shop; the owner knew me from coming in to hover and purchase small gifts and offered me a part-time job. I was smitten with a large slab of labradorite at the time. Set in silver, its discreet iridescent flash of blue lit up its swampy grey as if declaring: don't judge by surface appearances! Look deeper to find the energy. I took the job. Though I’ve never been fully ‘on board’ with New Age theories about the healing vibrations of crystals, I was in love with everything else about them. Carrying secret stories about how the earth evolved over millions of years, they are full of the hidden music of its DNA. It was inevitable that a poem would gradually crystalise and here it is! I’m delighted to discover that it was last Friday’s ‘Poetry Break’ on Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council’s youtube channel and you can enjoy it here