Autumn poetry workshops @ Galway Arts Centre with Kevin Higgins

Starting in September, Galway Arts Centre is offering aspiring poets a choice of three poetry workshops, all facilitated by poet Kevin Higgins, whose best-selling first collection, The Boy With No Face, published by Salmon Poetry, was short-listed for the 2006 Strong Award for Best First Collection by an Irish poet. Kevin’s second collection of poems, Time Gentlemen, Please, was published in 2008 by Salmon Poetry and his poetry is discussed in The Cambridge Introduction to Modern Irish Poetry. His third collection Frightening New Furniture was published in 2010 by Salmon. His work also appears in the generation defining anthology Identity Parade –New British and Irish Poets (Ed. Roddy Lumsden, Bloodaxe, 2010) and The Hundred Years’ War: modern war poems (Ed Neil Astley, Bloodaxe April 2014).  A collection of Kevin’s essays and book reviews, Mentioning The War, was published by Salmon Poetry in 2012. Kevin’s poetry has been translated into Greek, Russian, Spanish, Italian, Japanese & Portuguese. His fourth collection of poetry, The Ghost in the Lobby, was published last year by Salmon. Kevin's poetry was the subject of a paper 'The Case of Kevin Higgins, or, The Present State of Irish Poetic Satire' presented by David Wheatley at a Symposium on Satire at the University of Aberdeen. 

Each week Kevin will give participants a poetry writing exercise for the following week and will offer each participant constructive suggestions as to how her or his poem can become the best possible poem it can be.

Kevin is an experienced workshop facilitator and several of his students have gone on to achieve publication success. One of his workshop participants at Galway Arts Centre won the prestigious Hennessy Award for New Irish Poetry, two have won the Cúirt New Writing Prize, and yet another the Cúirt Poetry Grand Slam, while several have published collections of their poems; two being shortlisted for the Shine-Strong Award for Best First Collection of poems. In 2013 a group of his students set up the poetry newspaper Skylight 47, which publishes new poems, reviews of poetry books and opinion pieces about poetry related matters. Kevin teaches poetry on the NUI Galway Summer School programme and mentors poetry students on the NUIG BA Creative Writing Connect programme. Kevin is also co-organiser of the successful Over The Edge reading series which specialises in promoting new writers.

Each workshop will run for ten weeks, commencing the week of September 21^st. They will take place on Tuesday evenings, 7-8.30pm (first class September 22^nd); on Thursday afternoons, 2-4pm (first class September 24^th) and on Friday afternoons, 2-3.30pm (first class September 25th).

The Tuesday evening and Friday afternoon workshops are open to both complete beginners as well as those who’ve been writing for some time. The Thursday afternoon workshop is an Advanced Poetry Workshop, suitable for those who’ve participated in poetry workshops before or had poems published in magazines. The cost to participants is €110, with an €100 concession rate.

Places must be paid for in advance. To reserve a place contact reception at Galway Arts Centre, 47 Dominick Street, phone 091 565886 or email info@galwayartscentre.ie  

Autumn Daytime Creative Writing with Susan Millar DuMars at Galway Arts Centre

Starting in September, Galway Arts Centre presents a daytime class for all those beginner and continuing creative writing students out there, facilitated by Susan Millar DuMars. Susan Millar DuMars writes both poetry and fiction. A collection of her stories, Lights In The Distance, was published in December 2010 by Doire Press; she has published three collections of poetry, Big Pink Umbrella (2008), Dreams For Breakfast (2010) & The God Thing (2013) all with Salmon Poetry. Susan is the Featured Fiction writer in the current issue of the American online magazine The Atticus Review. She is also co-organiser of the Over The Edge reading series which specifically promotes new writers. Susan edited the anthology Over the Edge – the first ten years, published by Salmon, which includes work by forty seven writers who have published a first book since they did a reading at an Over The Edge: Open Reading in Galway City Library.

The class is suitable for both beginning and continuing creative writing students, working in either poetry or fiction. Students will spend their weeks responding to writing exercises designed to inspire, rather than inhibit. In class, they will receive gentle feedback on their work from their classmates and from the teacher. The class takes place on Monday afternoons, 2.30-4pm, commencing on Monday, September 21st. It runs for 10 weeks.

The cost to participants is 110 Euro with an 100 Euro concession price. Booking is essential as places are limited. There are no refunds once the class has started. For booking please contact Galway Arts Centre, 47 Dominick Street, phone 091 565886 or email info@galwayartscentre.ie

Culture Night Open-Mic for Fiction Writers & Poets THERE WILL BE PRIZES!

Over The Edge is holding two special Culture Night open-mics - one for fiction writers, the other for poets - with prizes for the best readers, at Kenny’s Bookshop & Gallery, Liosbán Retail Park, Tuam Road, Galway on Friday, September 18^th.

The open mic for fiction writers starts at 4pm. Participants should bring along two pages of a story to read. 

The open mic for poets starts at 6pm. Participants poets should bring along two poems to read. 

The evening will be MCed by Kevin Higgins and will also see a reading from their long-listed stories and poems by some of the writers on the long list for the 2015 Over The Edge New Writer of The Year competition, for which Kenny’s is one of the generous sponsors. All long-listed writers, who can make it to Kenny’s on the day, are invited to come and read.

The long list for 2015 Over The Edge New Writer of The Year is available here.

September Over The Edge Writers’ Gathering at The Kitchen @ The Museum

The September Over The Edge Writers’ Gathering presents an exciting variety of readings by poets and fiction writers Clara Rose Thornton, Kernan Andrews, Kate Ennals, Susan Lanigan, and Ruth Aylett. The evening will see the launch by Kevin Higgins of Kate Ennal’s debut poetry collection At The Edge, which is just published by Lapwing Press.

 The event will take place at The Kitchen @ The Museum, Spanish Arch, Galway on Friday, September 11^th, 8pm. All are welcome. There is no cover charge.

Kate Ennals is a poet and writes short stories. She has been published in various literary publications such as Crannog, Skylight 47, Burning Bush 2, The Galway Review, Ropes, Boyne Berries, and North West Words. She has published a novella, Slainté, on Amazon. A Londoner, Kate has lived in Ireland for 21 years and runs poetry and writing workshops in County Cavan. Her blog can be found at kateennals.com. At The Edge, her debut poetry collection, is just published by Lapwing Press.

Clara Rose Thornton is a spoken word artist, culture journalist, and RTÉ radio and television broadcaster originally hailing from Chicago. She publishes arts and culture criticism internationally, including for the Irish Independent, and her provocative spoken word is performed at festivals and venues across Europe. She is the 2014-15 Dublin Slam Poetry Champion. Meet her at clararosethornton.com and @ClaraRose. 

Kernan Andrews is from Galway and work as the Arts Editor and Political Correspondent of the Galway Advertiser newspaper and its website, www.advertiser.ie . His short story, Im Niemandsland, was published in the anthology Noir By Noir West, published by Arlen House. Kernan will read from, Northern Uproar, his tale of a young Protestant lad in 1970s Northern Ireland whose life is turned upside down by punk and the Sex Pistols.

Ruth Aylett teaches computing and researches artificial intelligence and robotics at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. She jointly wrote the collaborative online epic Granite University, performed with Sarah the Poetic Robot at the 2012 Edinburgh Free Fringe and wants to write poems that can enter the lives of everyone everywhere. She has been published by Envoi, Bloodaxe Books, New Writing Scotland, Poetry Scotland, and Doire Press and tweets as ruthaylett; read more at www.macs.hw.ac.uk/~ruth/writing.html.

Susan Lanigan, lives in Dublin and is a graduate of the MA in Writing at NUI Galway. He is the author of WWI novel White Feathers. This story of passion, betrayal and war has been shortlisted for the Romantic Novel of the Year Award 2015, and is published by O’Brien Press Brandon imprint.

For further information contact 087-6431748.

All Welcome. No Cover charge.

Over The Edge acknowledges the ongoing financial support of 

the Arts Council, Poetry Ireland, and Galway City Council.