White House Poetry, 7th July 2010

What: Poetry reading with special guests Anthony Owen and Barry Patterson

When: Wednesday, 7th July 2010, from 9pm

Where: The White House bar, O'Connell Street, Limerick

At the White House reading in the coming week (July 7th) are visiting poets from Coventry, Anthony Owen and Barry Patterson. Each will read a selection of his work and there will be an open-mic reading sessions to which all comers may and will be encouraged to contribute something.

Antony Owen is from Coventry, England, his first collection of poetry My Father’s Eyes Were Blue was published in May 2009 by Heaventree Press to rave reviews from award winning poets.

In November 2009 Owen arranged a remembrance themed poetry event backed by Falklands Hero Simon Weston OBE which raised over £2,000 and inspired several other creative projects expected to raise up to £10,000 for JJ’s Memorial Fund and Help for Heroes.

Owen is currently working on his second collection of poetry titled The Dreaded Boy and has also been published in Avocado Magazine, Sherb: An Anthology Of River Poems (Heaventree Press), Ava Gardner: Touches of Venus by Gilbert Gigliotti (Entasis Press).

Barry Patterson is a writer and performer living in Coventry. The philosophy of the poems in his debut collection, Nature Mystic (Heaventree, 2009), is in their shared ethos of Dharma and Druidry.

Patterson, both a trained scientist and a spiritual practitioner, uses poetry, passionate and contemporary in its style and, further, with its own formal regulations and restrictions, as a medium – perhaps the best medium – to attempt an expression of the unutterable mystical experiences he has encountered in both religions, and in the natural world.

The poems are his journey, written during several years of exploring this hidden dimension, but Patterson also brings his poetry to life in vivid, musical performances encapsulating flute, bodhran and song.

White House Poetry, 30th June 2010

What: Poetry reading with special guest Susan Millar DuMars

When: Wednesday, 30th June 2010, from 9pm

Where: The White House pub, O'Connell Street, Limerick

At the White House this week (30th June, starting at 9pm) reading from her brand new second collection, Dreams for Breakfast (Salmon Publishing) is Susan Millar DuMars. As well as this special presentation, there will be an open-mic reading session, to which all our comers on the night will be invited and encouraged to contribute a poem or two. As always, there is no admission fee and complimentary finger food will be provided.

Susan Millar DuMars was born in Philadelphia in 1966 and holds an MA in Writing from the University of San Francisco. Her poems and short stories have been published widely in the US, UK and Ireland, and she had poetry included in the 2004 Anthology I, published by Ainnir.

In 2005, Lapwing in Belfast published a pamphlet of her poems, entitled Everyone Loves Me, to rave reviews, and the same year she was awarded an Irish Arts council Bursary for her fiction. In 2007 then, a volume of short stories was published by Lapwing under the title American Girls.

Living in Galway, since 2003 Susan and her husband, poet Kevin Higgins, have been organising the successful Over The Edge literary evenings. Her first full collection of poems is Big Pink Umbrella, published in 2008 by Salmon, to which Dreams for Breakfast is the follow-up. The new book will of course be available as well for purchase on the night, and the poet will sign these with personalised messages for anyone interested.

Of Susan's work, renowned poet Rita Ann Higgins says: "DuMars will not rush sadness, but instead makes language do its poignant job of revealing and evoking strong feelings... Her style of retelling is unique; she doesn't mince her words, she spares them and makes them work."

White House Poetry, 23rd June 2010

What: Poetry reading with special guest John W. Sexton

When: Wednesday, 23rd June 2010, fom 9pm

Where: The White House pub, O'Connell Street, Limerick

This week at the White House (June 23rd) sees the return of one of our great supporters, John W. Sexton, for a reading from his recently published fourth collection of poems, Petit Mal (Revival Press), which contains the winning poem from the 2007 Listowel Writer's Week single poem competition, called 'The Green Owl'.

Sexton will give his presentation in conjunction with an open-mic reading session and as ever all comers on the night will be invited and encouraged to contribute an old piece or something they are working on at the moment, anything at all goes! There will of course be complimentary finger food provided by Glenn McLoughlin, the proprietor, and admission is free.

Sexton's previous collections are The Prince’s Brief Career (Cairn Mountain Publishing, 1995), Shadows Bloom/Scáthanna Faoi Bhláth (Doghouse Books, 2004, a book of haiku published with translations into Irish by Aosdana's Gabriel Rosenstock), and Vortex (Doghouse Books, 2005).

He has published two childrens’ novels, The Johnny Coffin Diaries & Johnny Coffin School-Dazed (both from The O’Brien Press). He has also recorded an album with legendary Stranglers frontman, Hugh Cornwell, entitled Sons Of Shiva, which has been released on Track Records.

As if all this weren't enough, Sexton is also the creator and scriptwriter of the RTÉ children’s series The Ivory Tower. Currently the fiction editor for The Cork Literary Review, he sometimes writes under the pseudonym Sex W. Johnston.

Copies of Petit Mal will be available for purchase on the night at a reduced price, whic the poet will sign for buyers with personalised messages. Please arrive early to be sure of getting good seats. See you then!!

White House Poetry, 9th June 2010

What: Poetry reading with special guest Siobhán Campbell

When: Wednesday, 9th June 2010, from 9pm

Where: The White House pub, O'Connell Street, Limerick

This Wednesday (June 9th, from 9pm) at the hugely popular Limerick reading series is acclaimed poet Siobhán Campbell to read a eslection of work from her recently published third full collection, Cross-Talk (Seren Press) and other work. Her reading will be in conjunction with the usual open-mic session to which all comers are very welcome and will be encouraged to contribute. As ever there is no admission fee and finger food will be provided compliments of the proprietors.

Siobhán Campbell was born in Dublin. She spent a number of years in New York and San Francisco and worked as Director of Wolfhound Press before joining Faculty at Kingston University in London.

Widely published in the USA and UK, credits include Crab Orchard Review, Poetry, The Southern Review, Agenda, Magma and Wasafiri. Her work is anthologised in Women’s Work: Modern Women Poets Writing in English (Seren), The Field Day Anthology of Irish Literature (NYU Press) and Identity Parade: New British and Irish Poets (Bloodaxe, 2010). Publications also include reviews and criticism in Agenda, The Independent, Poetry Ireland Review and The Stinging Fly.

She has won awards in the National, Troubadour and Wigtown International competitions, and was first runner-up for the Gregory O'Donaghue Award 2010. She has also recently (2009) been shortlisted for the Michael Marks Award. Her collections previous to Cross-Talk are The Permanent Wave and The Cold that Burns, (Blackstaff Press), as well as the chapbooks That Water Speaks in Tongues (Templar Poetry) and Darwin Among the Machines (Rack Press).

White House Poetry, 2nd June 2010

What: Poetry reading with special guest poet Afric McGlinchey

When: Wednesday, 2nd June 2010, from 9pm

Where: The White House pub, O'Connell Street, Limerick

This week's guest to the weekly reading series at the famous White House pub venue is Afric McGlinchey. Her reading will be given in conjunction with the as per usual open-mic reading session and, as per usual, all comers are welcome to, and will be encouraged to contribute something they've been working on. Admission as ever is free and finger food will be provided compliments of the proprietor, Glenn McLoughlin.

Afric McGlinchey spent her childhood and early adult years between Ireland and Africa, living for a few years in Limerick. She retuned to Ireland for good in 1999. A freelance journalist, editor and workshop facilitator, Afric’s poetry has appeared in a number of journals in Ireland and abroad, including Southword, Poetry Ireland Review, the SHOp, Revival, Tear in the Fence, Scottish Poetry Review and Acumen. She lives now in Kinsale, Co. Cork.

White House Poetry, 26th May 2010

What: Poetry reading with special guest poet Teri Murray

When: Wednesday evening, 26th May 2010, from 9pm

Where: The White House pub, O'Connell Street, Limerick

Our guest this Wednesday (May 26) for the weekly reading series is our own local treasure, first lady of the White House Teri Murray, who will read a election of work from her fantastic new publication, Where the Dagda Dances: New & Selected Poems, from Revival Press, made up of the most potent work from her previous three collections, and nineteen new poems. Copies of the book will be available also for purchase on the night, and the poet will be happy to autograph these with personalised messages for buyers.

An open-mic session will be held in conjunction with the guest's reading, and everyone present will be invited and encouraged to share a piece of work with the group - don't be shy, bring something along to perform for the encouraging, poetry-loving crowd. Admission as ever is free and complimentary finger food will be provided the proprietor Glenn McLoughlin.

Teri Murray was born in England and grew up in Dublin but has been living in Limerick now for many years. As well as being a poet, she is a novelist, dramatist and editor, and currently edits Limerick's own journal Revival.

The White House Poetry event, running now for almost seven years, has thrived because of the support of people like Murray, who you will see tere each and every Wednesday and among the first to arrive, week in week out reading her own work and giving her support to others. Her example is a course on how to enjoy and engage with poetry itself and poetry in Limerick.

Teri's previous collections are Coddle and Tripe, a collaboration with her late partner and Limerick man Liam Mulligan, Poems from the Exclusion Zone, and The Authority of Winter, all three from Stonebridge Publications.

Hope to see you all there for what will certainly be a night to remember!!

White House Poetry, 19th May 2010

What: Poetry reading with special guest poet Carlos Reyes

When: Wednesday, 19th May 2010, from 9pm

Where: The White House pub, O'Connell Street, Limerick

Next Wednesday (May 19th, from 9pm), the famous White House pub welcomes Carlos Reyes back to its reading series to give a reading of new work and old favourites. His reading will be coupled with an open-mic rading sesion to which all comers are invited and will be encouraged to contribute, so you are asked to bring along something you've been working on. Admission as ever is free and complimentary finger food is provided by the proprietor, Glenn McLoughlin.

Carlos Reyes is a noted poet, writer and translator. Additionally, he is a book editor and publisher, and often writes freelance reviews of poetry books. When he’s not traveling or staying in his cottage in Ireland, he lives in Portland, Oregon.

Carlos has published numerous collections and chapbooks, his latest book of poetry being The Book of Shadows; New and Selected Poems (2009). Other recent books include At the Edge of the Western Wave (2004) and A Suitcase Full of Crows (1995) (a Bluestem Prize winner and finalist for 1996 Oregon Book Awards). His books of translations is entitled Poemas de la Isla/Island Poems by Josefina de la Torre (Eastern Washington University Press, 2000). Reyes’ translation of the Obra poética completa (Complete Poetic Works) of the preeminent Ecuadorean poet Jorge Carrera Andrade, was published in 2004 in a bilingual edition in Ecuador.

He is the publisher/editor of Trask House Books, Inc. In 2007 he was awarded a Heinrich Boll Fellowship to write on Achill Island, Ireland and in 2008 was awarded the Ethel Fortnter Award from St Andrews College. He has also been teaching poetry writing in Oregon, Washington and Nevada schools since 1982. He has also been the poet-in-Residence in the Joshua Tree National Park, and aside from his regular visits to Ireland, is a frequent visitor to Spain and Ecuador.

Of his work Carolyn Kizer has said: "Mr. Reyes is one of our local and national treasures. His poetry is as clear and strong as his social conscience. One is always struck by his sensual and sensory qualities: the touch, taste, feel, color of things, and his ability to capture a mood, a world, in a handful of lines."

Hope we'll see you there. Bring along somebody who's never been before!!

White House Poetry, May 12th

What: Poetry reading with special guest poet Matthew Geden

When: Wednesday evening, 12th may 2010, from 9pm

Where: The White House pub, O'Connell Street, Limerick

At the famed White House pub next Wednesday (May 12, from 9pm), Matthew Geden will be reading from debut collection of poems, Swimming to Albania. The evening's entertainment will be rounded off with the usual open-mic reading session, to which all comers are welcome and will be encouraged to contribute. Admission as ever is free and finger food will be provided compliments of the proprietors. We hope to see you there for an evening of socialising and poetry, and to see a fine event and a fine poet well supported.

Born in Coventry, England, Matthew Geden moved to Kinsale in 1990, where he now runs a bookstore. he is a co-founder of the SoundEye International Poetry Festival and has had poetry published widely in journals in Ireland and abroad. The first full collection of his work, mentioned above, was published by Bradshaw Books in 2009. Other notable publications include Autumn: Twenty Poems by Guillaume Apollinaire, and versions of Montale and Catullus, amongst others.

White House Poetry, 05th May 2010

What: Poetry reading with special guest Mary O'Donnell

When: Wednesday, 05th May 2010, from 9pm

Where: The White House pub, O'Connell Street, Limerick

This week at the White House for their popular Wednesday night poetry reading series, the special guest will be Mary O'Donnell. Her reading will be coupled with an open-mic session and, as ever, all comers are welcome to and will be encouraged to read, so if there's something you've been working on and you wish to try it out, bring it along. Admission to the event is free and complimentary finger food shall be provided by the proprietors.

Mary O’Donnell was born in Co Monaghan. Her poetry collections are Reading the Sunflowers in September (The Cliffs of Moher, Co Clare, Salmon, 1991), Spiderwoman’s Third Avenue Rhapsody (Salmon Poetry, 1993), both of these nominated for the Irish Times Literary Award for poetry, Unlegendary Heroes (Salmon Publishing, 1998), September Elegies (Belfast, Lapwing Publications, 2003), The Place of Miracles: New & Selected Poems (Dublin, New Island Books, 2006), and The Arc Builders (Todmorden, UK, Arc Publications, 2009).

Her story collections are Strong Pagans (Dublin, Poolebeg, 1991) and Storm Over Belfast (New Island Books, 2008) and her novels are The Light-Makers (Poolebeg, 1992), which was named The Sunday Tribune Best New Novel of 1992, Virgin and the Boy (Poolebeg, 1996), and The Elysium Testament (London, Trident Press, 1999).

Her awards include the William Aillingham Award, the Listowel Writers’ Week Award, a Hennessy Award and, of course, two nominations for the Irish Times Literary Award for poetry. She is a member of Aosdana, Ireland's most prestigious artistic honour.

White House Poetry, April 28th 2010

What: Poetry reading with special guest Kevin Higgins

When: Wednesday evening, April 28th 2010, from 9pm

Where: The White House pub, O'Connell Street, Limerick

At the White House this (Apr 28th, from 9.00pm) Wednesday Kevin Higgins will launch his new collection of poetry, his third, Frightening New Furniture, from Salmon Poetry. This will be coupled with an open-mic reading session to which all comers may and will be encouraged to contribute, so please bring something you've been working on. There will be complimentary finger food and wine reception courtesy of the proprietors, and of course admission is free as always.

Higgins' first collection, The Boy With No Face, was shortlisted for the 2006 Strong Award, and this was followed by Time Gentlemen, Please. With his wife Susan Millar DuMars he established and organises the very popular Over the Edge literary readings in Galway.

In 2006, Lapwinf Press in Belfast published a collections of his essays and reviews, Poetry, Politics and Dorothy Gone Horribly Astray. He is poetry critic for the Galway advertiser also.

White House Poetry, 21st Apr 2010

What: Poetry reading with special guest Marian O'Rourke

When: Wednesday evening, 21st April 2010, from 9pm

Where: The White House pub, O'Connell Street, Limerick

A very special book launch takes place at the White House this Wednesday evening (Apr 21st, from 9pm), with Limerick poet Marian O'Rourke celebrating the publication of her debut collection, Inhaling the Light, from Lapwing Press. The honour of launching the book goes to award-winning poet and Aosdana and Cuisle Committee member, Ciaran O'Driscoll. Admission is free and the proprietors will provide complimentary finger food and wine reception to mark the occassion.

The night will also include an open-mic session, broken into two parts around O'Rourke's reading, and for which all comers are encouraged to contribute something they've working on and feel like sharing. So please, bring something with you just in case the mood strikes you.

Marian O'Rourke has lived most of her life in Canada and the USA. She has been a flower designer, a piano teacher, an office administrator, a health food store owner, a fashion weaver and a street belly dancer. While her home is once again in Limerick, she divides her year between Ireland and the USA.

Her poems have been published in a variety of journals both in Ireland, England, and Canada. She has read her poetry on WBAI Radio (New York City), and Lyric FM, and has performed at poetry events in Ireland, England, Canada and The United States. Her short stories have been accepted by Sunday Miscellany. Her chapbook, Uprooted, was published by Horn Press in 2008. Inhaling the Light, published in 2009 is her first full poetry collection. Marian holds an M.A. (Hons.) in Creative Writing from The Waterford Institute of Technology.

Of course, copies of Inhaling the Light will be available for purchase on the night should you enjoy what you hear, which the poet will sign for you with personalised messages.

Hope to see you there for what should be a very special night of poetry and festivity!!

White House Poetry, 14th Apr 2010

What: Poetry reading with special guest reader Maggie O'Dwyer
When: Wednesday, 14th April 2010, 9.30pm
Where: The White House pub, O'Connell Street, Limerick

This week at the White House Poetry reading series we proudly welcome Maggie O'Dwyer as our guest of honour. She will give a reading of poems from debut and Strong Award shortlisted collection, Laughter Heard from the Road, published by Templar. The evening will also have an open-mic reading session, to which all comers will be encouraged to read and share something they've been working on.

Maggie O’Dwyer was born in Dublin in 1951. Since graduation from art college in 1974, her work has been exhibited widely and included in The Royal Hibernian Academy exhibitions. In 2000 she won a Scholarship to The Eastern Washington University Writing Workshop and was awarded a place in the Poetry Ireland Introduction Series in 2007.

As well as being shortlisted for the Strong Award, she has been shortlisted in the Féile Filiochta International Poetry Competition and the satirical category of the Strokestown Poetry Festival. She has also been a winner of Templar Poetry's Pamphlet and Collection Prizes, which led to publication of the volume Yes, I'd Love to Dance.

Her book, Laughter Heard from the Road, will, of course, be available to purchase on the night should you enjoy what you hear and want a little more, and these, naturally, the poet will sign with personalised messages for those interested.

Admission is, as ever, free, and the proprietors of the White House will provide complimentary finger food. See you there!!

White House Poetry, 07th Apr 2010

What: Poetry reading with special guest Fergus Costello

When: Wednesday, 07th April 2010, 9.30pm

Where: The White House pub, O'Connell Street, Limerick

This Wednesday (Apr 7th from 9.30pm) at the White House we welcome Fergus Costello, a combined poet, musician, comic, and storyteller for what will surely be another great evening of poetry. Fergus will treat us to a selection of the work that won him the title of Cuisle Limerick City International Poetry Festival Slam Champion for 2009/10.

The night will of course be complete with the usual open-mic session, and all comers will be encouraged to contribute something here, so if there's anything you've been working on and would like to share bring it along.

As per usual, admission to the event is free, made possible due to the continued support of the Arts Council of Ireland, and finger food will be provided with the compliments of the White House proprietor.

If you would like a taste or snippet of what Fergus Costello does, you can see clips of his performance at On The Nail a few months back on YouTube.

The night will of course by hosted as ever by the mercurial Barney Sheehan, and is sure to be a great event. Hope we'll see you there!!

White House Poetry, 31st Mar 2010

What: Poetry reading with special guest poet Evelyn Casey
When: Wednesday, March 31st 2010, 9.30pm
Where: The White House pub, O'Connell Street, Limerick

This week at the White House Evelyn Casey will read a selection of her work, collected over the many years she has been writing, including fourteen years spent living in the north of Germany. The evening will also include and open-mic session to which all comers are encouraged to contribute to, so bring along something you've been working on to share.

Evelyn Casey is working as a health and fitness trainer and consultant at the University of Limerick Sports Arena and is a regular contributor to the Revival nights each Wednesday at the White House bar.

Thus far she has been published in Revival poetry journal, with many more sure to come. Her poems are often personal and passionate and Casey is a highly accomplished reader and performer of her work.

Admision to the event is free of course and as usual finger food will be provided compliments of the proprietor of the White House. See you there!!

White House Poetry, 24th March 2010

What: Poetry reading with special guest poet Paul Casey

When: Wednesday, 24th March 2010, 9.30pm

Where: The White House pub, O'Connell Street, Limerick

At the White House this week, we welcome back long-time supporter Paul Casey, the man responsible for the establishment and organisation of the weekly O Bheal reading series at the Long Valley in Cork (http://www.obheal.ie/).

The night will be complete with the usual open-mic session to which all comers may and will be encouraged to contribute, so bring poems on the night, or a song, or short piece of fiction... Admission as ever is free and finger food shall be provided complements of the White House proprietor.

Paul Casey will read a selection of his work, including pieces from his recently published collection of long poems, It's not All Bad.

Casey is one of Cork and Munster's most important poetry promotors and activists, with the O bheal series now running for over three years and attracting such guests as Macdara Woods, Derek Mahon, Kevin Higgins, Richard Tillinghast.

White House Poetry, 17th March 2010

What: Poetry reading with special guest reader Jane Weir

When: Wednesday, 17th March 2010, 9.30pm

Where: The White House pub, O'Connell Street, Limerick

This Paddy's Day at the white House is a very special night of poetry. Jane Weir will read a selection of work from her collections The Way I dressed During the Revolution, Before Playing Romeo, and the forthcoming, Gazehound, written about the lives of women during the Italian Renaissance. The night will be complete with the usual open-mic and we would encourage all comers to contribute. Admission is of course free and finger food provided compliments of the proprietor.

Jane Weir will be accompanied on the night by Alex McMillen, editor of Templar Press, and he will be giving a talk about publishing and, specifically, about Templar's Pamphlet and Collection competitions, the deadline for which is early May - essential to all poets with publishing aspirations. Considering the current financial climate and the backlogs at many presses, this could be the best way in.

Jane Weir is Anglo-Italian. She was the overall winner of the Wigtown Poetry Competition in 2008, joint winner of the first Jackson Dawson Award for Poetry (2003) and her first collection, The Way I Dressed During the Revolution, was shortlisted in 2006 for the Glen Dimplex New Writers Award. She has also published a pamphlet, Alice, based partially on the life of the early twentieth century Derby political activist, Alice Wheeldon.

Her latest book, Walking the Block, is a poetic biography based on the lives of the Modernist handblock printers and textile artists, Phyllis Barron and Dorothy Larcher, who created a unique range of hand block printed naturally dyed textiles between the two World wars. Jane has also recently completed an adaptation of Walking the Block, as a radio play.

poetry has been widely published in anthologies and magazines including Out of Fashion (Faber: 2005), Answering Back (Picador: 2007), PN Review, Ulster Tatler (2008), The Forward Book of Poetry (2007, 2008) and the International Sonnet Competition Prize Anthology (2008). Her winning poem from the 2008 Wigtown Poetry Competition, ‘On the Recommendation of Ovid We Tried a Weasel’, is one of two published in the 2009 Forward Book of Poetry.

If you would like to know more you can visit Jane's website at http://www.janeweir.co.uk/

White House Poetry, 10th Mar 2010

What: Poetry reading with special guest Richard Tillinghast

When: Wednesday, March 10th, 2010, from 9.30pm

Where: The White House pub, O'Connell Street, Limerick

At the White House this week we will be treated to a reading from Tennessee native Richard Tillinghast, who had recently published his Selected Poems with Dedalus Press. He will be joined on the night by his partner, the poet Grace Wells, so it promises to a great evening of poetry.

We will of course have the usual open-mic, too, to which all may and will be encouraged to contribute - bring some poems and see if the mood strikes you!! Some extra colour and atmosphere on the night will be added by the visit of a creative writing class all the way from Norway, whom we'll look forward to welcoming to Limerick. Our resident Master of Ceremonies, Barney Sheehan, will have to be on his best behaviour, and anyone who knows him knows what that means!!

Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, Richard Tillinghast first came to Kinvara, County Galway, for a year in 1990 on an Amy Lowell travel grant and has long since been a distinctive presence on the Irish literary scene. He now lives in South Tipperary. Selected Poems is his tenth book of poems.

He is also the author of three non-fiction works including Damaged Grandeur, a critical memoir of Robert Lowell, with whom he studied at Harvard, and Finding Ireland: A Poet’s Explorations of Irish Literature and Culture. With his daughter, Julia Clare Tillinghast, he has recently published Dirty August, a selection of their translations from the Turkish poet Edip Cansever.

Tillinghast has also been active as a critic, travel writer and book reviewer for The Irish Times, The New York Times, and other periodicals. He has received grants from the Arts Council of Ireland and the National Endowment for the Arts, among others, and in 2008 was awarded an honorary D.Litt. by the University of the South (Sewanee).

White House Poetry, Mar 3rd 2010

What: Poetry reading with special guest Alan Garvey

When: Wednesday, March 3rd 2010, 9.30pm

Where: The White House pub, O'Connell Street, Limerick

This week at the White House we bring you the return of Alan Garvey (not unlike Napolean's return from Elba) for the launch of his third and new collection, Terror Háza. The night will also have the regular open-mic session to which all comers may and will be encouraged to contribute. Bring your friends, make them bring poems, etc etc. Admission is free as always and finger food is provided as ever, compliments of the proprietor.

Garvey has published three chapbooks - Whoever (2001), The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea (2003) and Play Dead (2006) - and two full collections - Herself in Air (2006) and Learning to Crawl (2008). Work of his has also been published in many journals and anthologies in Ireland and Canada.

A graduate of the Creative Writing M.A. at WIT, Garvey is an highly accomplished reader and performer of his work, receiving Travel and Mobility Grants from the Arts Council of Ireland to read at the University of Toronto and at the March Hare Festival, Newfoundland.

Born in Dublin, growing up in Naas, Garvey lives in Carlow with wife Tara and sons Keir and Alastair.

Terror Háza, published by lapwing Press in Belfast, will of course be available for purchase on the night, which the poet will happily sign with personalised messages for buyers.

"Alan Garvey is a meticulous poet whose oeuvre extends both near and far. As the poems in Terror Háza declare, Garvey is aligned with the new committed generation of poets for whom vacuous mythology and the tedium of theologised philosophy has become a shadow in the margins of modern art."

- Richard Montgomery

We hope to see you there for what will surely be a great event. Arrive early to ensure you get good seats.

White House Poetry, Feb 24th 2010

What: Poetry reading with special guest Jaki McCarrick
When: Wednesday, February 24th 2010, 9.30pm
Where: The White House pub, O'Connell Street, Limerick

The White House this week welcomes Jaki McCarrick as guest to its weekly reading series. She will perform a selection of her work and, of course, the night will have the usual open-mic session to which all comers may contribute and are encouraged to do so.

Jaki McCarrick is a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin. Her first play, The Mushroom Pickers, won the 2005 Scottish Drama Association's National Playwriting Competition, and premiered at the Southwark Playhouse in London in May 2006 and in New York in February 2009.

She has published poetry in Poetry Ireland Review, Revival, Boyne Berries, Southword, Cyphers, Cathach, Word on the Street, Stylus (Australia), The Pedestal (North Carolina), Ouroborus (New York), Atonal, and short stories in The Dublin Review, Verbal Arts Magazine, Cyphers, Brace, Random Acts of Writing, The Frogmore Papers.

She was Writer-in-Residence at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre for the Pushkin Trust in July 2007. She recently won first prize in the Northern Ireland Spinetinglers Dark Fiction competition for Blood and was selected for the 2009 Poetry Ireland Introduction series of emerging poets.

Her play, The Moth-Hour, has been nominated for a number of awards and her most recent play, Leopoldville, was this year short-listed for the Adrienne Benham Award as well as the 2009 Kings Cross Award for New Writing, taking runner-up. Playwright David Hare has just selected Leopoldville as a finalist in the 2010 Yale Drama Series Playwriting Competition. Leopoldville is to be staged in London in 2010.

Admission to the event is, of course, free and finger-food is served compliments of the White House proprietor. A word of advice, arrive early to get good seats!! See you then...

White House Poetry, Feb 17th 2010

What: Poetry reading with special guest Catherine Phil MacCarthy

When: Wednesday, February 17th 2010, 9.30pm

Where: The White House pub, O'Connell Street, Limerick

This week at the White House as part of the weekly reading series, special guest poet Catherine Phil MacCarthy will be launching her latest collection of poems, Suntrap (Blackstaff Press). As ever the night will be complete with an open-mic session to which all comers are welcome to contribute. Admission is free and finger food is provided compliments of the White House.

Of Suntrap, poet Tom McCarthy's review in The Irish Times stated:

"It is as a love poet that Catherine Phil MacCarthy triumphs... Suntrap continues this vein in its chronicling of the robust power of attachments, from the primal power of ”Dance” to the sexual intrigue of “Another Woman.” Here is a poet, then, who becomes stronger with each new collection, a poet who understands that furnace of love while longing for late winter ice to hold firm along the Shannon."

MacCarthy's other collections are How High the Moon (Poetry Ireland, Sense of Place Award, 1991), This Hour of the Tide (1994), the blue globe (1998), and a first novel, One Room an Everywhere (2003). She was awarded a bursary in poetry from the Arts Council in 1994, 1999 and 2007/8 and was Writer in Residence for Dublin City (1994) and University College Dublin (2002). She works freelance as a Creative Writing tutor and is a former editor of Poetry Ireland Review.

Copies of Suntrap will be available to buy on the night, which the poet will sign with personalised messages. It should be a great night - don't miss it!!

Over The Edge New Writer of the Year 2010

2010 Over The Edge New Writer of The Year competition sponsored by Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop.

In 2010 Over The Edge is continuing its exciting annual creative writing competition. The competition is open to both poets and fiction writers. The total prize money is €1,000. The best fiction entry will win €300. The best poetry entry will win €300. One of these will then be chosen as the overall winner and will receive an additional €400, giving the overall winner total prize money of €700 and the title Over The Edge New Writer of The Year 2010. The 2010 Over The Edge New Writer of The Year will be a Featured Reader at a reading to be scheduled in Galway City Library in Winter 2010/11. Salmon Poetry will read without prejudice a manuscript submitted to them by the winner in the poetry category.

Entries should be sent to Over The Edge, New Writer of the Year competition, 3 Carbry Road, Newcastle, Galway, Ireland with an accompanying SAE. Entries will be judged anonymously, so do not put your name on your poem(s) or story. Put your contact details on a separate sheet.

Criteria: fiction of up to three thousand words, three poems of up to forty lines, or one poem of up to one hundred lines. Multiple entries are acceptable but each must be accompanied by a fee. The fee for one entry is €10. The fee for multiple entries is €7.50 per entry e.g. two entries will cost €15, three entries €22.50 and so on. Fee payable by cheque or money order to Over The Edge. To take part you must be at least sixteen years old by September 1st 2010 and not have a book published or accepted for publication in that genre. Chapbooks excepted. Entries must not have been previously published or be currently entered in any other competition.

The closing date is Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010. A longlist will be announced in Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop on Wednesday, August 18th, 2010. A shortlist will be announced at the Over The Edge: Open Reading in Galway City Library on Thursday, August 26th. The winners will be announced at the Over The Edge reading in Galway City Library on Thursday, September 30th, 2010.

This year’s competition judge is James Martyn. James is from Galway where he is a member of The Talking Stick Writing Workshop. James writes both fiction and poetry. He has had work broadcast on both RTE and BBC and won the Listowel Writers Week Originals Short Story Competition. His work has appeared in The Cúirt Journal, West 47, Books Ireland, Crannóg, TheSunday Tribune, The Stinging Fly and The Shop. He was shortlisted for a Hennessy Award in 2006. He was shortlisted for the Francis McManus award in both 2007 and 2008 and for The William Trevor International Short Story Competition in 2007. His first collection of poetry, Shedding Skin, has just been published by Arlen House.

For further details contact Over The Edge on 087-6431748, e-mail

over-the-edge-openreadings@hotmail.com

White House Poetry, 10th Feb 2010

What: Poetry reading with special guest poet Robin Parmar

When: Wednesday, 10th February 2010, 9.30pm

Where: The White House pub, O'Connell Street, Limerick

After an excellent night with Mark Whelan, in which the crowd were treated to something very different to the usual, we welcome Robin Parmar, originally from Canada and now settled in limerick, next to the reading series. Here's a little bit about Robin, and a link to his website should anyone want to check out some of the projects he is involved with.

Robin Parmar is a composer, sound artist, writer, designer, curator, theorist and photographer. Recent credits include a paper on Doctor Who (Cardiff, Wales), the performance of "The Absence of Baudrillard" at "Die Gegenwart Von Jean Baudrillard" (Mainz, Germany), the premiere of the soundscape composition "The Garden Of Adumbrations" (Limerick, Ireland) and a chapter in the book "Framemakers: Choreography As An Aesthetics Of Change". His poetry has been published in Australia, Ireland and Canada. Robin was invited guest to the Brighton Poetry & Book Festival 2005 and was on the Irish team for the Hammer & Tongue International Slam Competition in Oxford. He was joint-editor for two anthologies and co-authored a study on hypertext fiction.

To find out more about Robin go to http://robinparmar.com/

As ever the night will be complete with the open-mic reading, for all and everyone. If you feel like reading, please do - we want to hear! If you come to listen then that's just fine too.

Admittance to the event is of course free, and compliments of the White House proprietor, finger food shall be provided.

Hope to see you all there - it promises to be a great night!!

What: Poetry reading with special guest Mark Whelan
When: Wednesday, 3rd January, 2010, 9.30pm
Where: The White House pub, O'Connell Street, Limerick

This week the White House welcomes Mark Whelan as its guest poet and the evening will be something very different to the typical reading, as Mark will be musically accompanied by friend and well-known White House personality Gerry. The night will of course be complete as always with the open-mic reading, to which all are encouraged to contribute.

Mark has been a tireless promoter of poetry in Limerick for many years, reviving The Stony Thursday Book founded by John Liddy and Jim Burke, of which he was editor for four issues. He was also instrumental in the establishment of what has become Cuisle Limerick City International Poetry Festival, which takes place in Limerick every October and has drawn some of the finest national and international writers, including American Poet Laureattes and Pulitzer Prize winners. Mark is an active Committee member since its inception.

He is author id two collection - Scarecrow Dyptich (2003), illustrated by artist and Aosdana member John Shinnors, and Always Pushing the Pull Door (2008), working with artist Thomas Delohery, and which is published by Limerick's own Revival Press, run by another tireless promoter of poetry in Limerick, Dominic Taylor.

He has read his work at many literary festivals, including Brighton and Murcia, and selections of Mark's work have been translated into Farsi, Spanish and French.

As always, admission to the event is free and complimentary finger food is provided by the White House. Hope to see you there for what will certainly be an evening to remember!!!

What: Poetry Reading with Special Guest Gerry Murphy

When: Wednesday, January 27th, 2010, at 9.30pm

Where: The White House Pub, O'Connell Street, Limerick

This Wednesday, Jan 27th, at 9.30pm, the White House bar welcomes guest poet Gerry Murphy to its weekly reading series. Bornin Cork in 1952, Murphy is the author of the collections A Small Fat Boy Walking Backwards, Rio de la Plata and All That, The Empty Quarter, Extracts from the Lost Log-Book of Christopher Columbus, Torso of an Ex-Girlfriend, the translation, Pocket Apocolypse, of the Polish poet Katarzyna Borun-Jagodzinska, and, his latest, End of Part One - New & Selected Poems.

He will read a selection of his work and, as always, the night will be complete with an open-mic session for which all are welcome and encouraged to read. Our resident Master of Ceremonies Barney Sheehan will be hosting the night, entry is free and complimentary finger food will be provided. We hope to see you there.

"Murphy's voice is salacious, funny, pithy, angry-making, often verging on the side-of-the-mouth and, dare one add, tender." (Poetry Ireland Review)

White House Poetry Funding for 2010

At the White House we are delighted to announce the continuance of our weekly Wednesday readings throughout 2010, thanks to generous funding and the continued support of the Arts Council.

White House Poetry Reading, 20th Jan 2010

What: Poetry reading with special guest poet Gabriel Fitzmaurice
When: Wednesday, 10th January, 2010, 9.30pm
Where: The White House pub, o'Connell Street, Limerick

This week for our weekly reading series at the White House we welcome poet Gabriel Fitzmaurice. He will be reading a selection of his work and the night will be complete with an open-mic session as always in which anyone may read and is encouraged to do so. Admission is free and finger food is provided compliments of the White House proprietors.

Gabriel Fitzmaurice was born in Moyvane, Co. Kerry, in 1952. A former Chair and Literary Advisor of Writers' Week, the Writer's Conference in Listowel, he is the author of more than twenty books. They include poetry in both English and Irish, children's verse in English and Irish, essays and collections of songs and ballads.

Some of the collections he will read work from on the night are Rainsong, The Boghole Boys and The space Between: New and Selected Poems. He will also read newer and yet unpulished works.

An esteemed reader and performer of his work, Fitzmaurice was an award winner at the Gerard Manley Hopkins Centenary Poetry Competition and has twice represented Ireland at the European Festival of Poetry in Louvain, Belgium.

We hope to see you there for a greart evening of socialising and poetry.

White House Poetry Revival, 13th Jan 2010

What: poetry reading with special guest Ciaran O'Driscoll
When: Wednesday, 13th Jan 2010, 9,30pm
Where: The White House pub, O'Connell Street, Limerick

This week at our weekly reading series we welcome Kilkenny-born, multi-award winning poet Ciaran O'Driscoll, who will be reading from his sixth and latest full collection of poems, Life Monitor. The night will be complete as always with an open-mic reading, for which anyone is welcome to read and is encouraged to do so. Complimentary finger food will also be provided.

Speaking to O'Driscoll prior to his reading, the poet says ‘Life Monitor’, the title poem of the collection, sees him visiting “his thirteen-year-old son’s bedroom at night to check his breathing,” and realising “this is a routine which has persisted out of pure habit since the boy’s infancy,” when he’d heard “a lot of warnings about cot death. Throughout the remainder of the collection, then, he explores the idea of poetry as a kind of life monitor – he says, “checking the health of the poet himself and the world to which he belongs.”

The subjects in his book range widely from the poet’s own maturing state to messages of comfort from speaking trees, and from wry regret at domestic woes to celebrations of hope. Copies of his book, of course, will also be for sale on the night, which O’Driscoll will happily sign with personalised messages.

O’Driscoll was born in Kilkenny but has resided in Limerick for the past twenty-three years. He remembers coming and says “it was a bit like God, who said You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.” He got involved in Limerick’s poetry scene upon arrival, running the Limerick Poetry Workshop and editing the Limerick Poetry Broadsheet. Today he is a member of the annual Cuisle Limerick City International Poetry Festival and has edited several important poetry books.

Over the years O’Driscoll’s many awards have included a Bursary in Literature from the Arts Council, the Patrick and Katherine Kavanagh Fellowship in Poetry, and the James Joyce Prize, and he is a member of Aosdana.

So we look forward to seeing you this Wednesday for a social and poetic evening.