Dancing in puddles with the Cailleach

by Jenny Methven

The Cailleach, the ancient goddess of Irish pagan tradition, is closely associated with nature and creation; with animals, plants and places of the wild. She particularly inhabits the world as the days shorten. The poems and images in ' Dancing in Puddles with the Cailleach' reflect my belief in the power of nature; reconnecting us to what really matters and to find ways of communicating and building peaceful ways of existing. I love the ancient pagan lands; their connection and closeness is palpable, even in the world of the twenty-first century. As I grow older and my own days shorten, I want to explore the creativity and freedom that can come with age; to relish the energy and lack of need to conform that comes with being an older woman; to understand the potency of the 'wise woman' which has been disregarded in our patriarchal society.

56 pages, Paperback

Published October 17, 2016

About the author

Jenny Methven lives in Fermanagh in Northern Ireland with her writer husband Willie, George the cat and Rosie, the collie.

Jenny grew up in Scotland, though her family are from Ireland. Following art college and teacher training in Wales, she moved to live in Ireland in her twenties.

She spent many years as a social worker and teacher, working with both adults and children and has an MA in Education among her qualifications. Her MSc in peace and Conlict studies focused on the peace building powers of gardens and the natural world.

She has had poetry published in both online journals and and print anthologies. Jenny's poetry collection 'Dancing in puddles with the Cailleach' published in 2016 is a combination of her poetry and artwork.

She is inspired by the natural world, loves plants and gardening.

Reviews

[Ellie Rose McKee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous words matched with beautiful paintings. I loved this. It's now one of my favourite poetry collections.