Liam Clancy "Get Drunk"

Liam Clancy "Get Drunk"



Here's Liam Clancy with a little something for Easter and maybe I'll look him up for a few more poems. But for now, though I'm not so sure of the song that follows. Enjoy! With thanks to whoever posted!

Baudelaire. "Get Drunk"

Baudelaire. "Get Drunk"

From Google Images

I came across this poem many years ago on a "Makem and Clancy" album and it's one of those poems that tends to stay with you over the years but maybe that's because it was Liam Clancy doing the recitation and he  really gets into it. Anyway most people in this neck of the woods wouldn't need much urging where the above is concerned. Baudelaire is regarded as "The earliest and finest poet of modernism in French" (Encyclopedia Britannica) and that would seem to be self evident. He lived as he wrote and died at only 46 years of age. A little too close to the sun!

Get Drunk

One should always be drunk

That's all that matters;

That's our one imperative need.

So as not to feel Time's horrible burden

Which breaks your shoulders

And bows you down 

You must get drunk without cease.

But what with?

With wine, poetry, or virtue

As you chose.

But get drunk.

And if, at some time, on the steps of a Palace

Or in the green grass of a ditch

In the bleak solitude of your room,

You are wakening

And drunkenness has already abated

Ask the wind, the wave, the stars, the clock,

All that which flees,

All that which groans,

All that which rolls,

All that which sings,

All that which speaks,

Ask them , what time it is?

And the wind, the wave, the stars, the birds, and the clock,

They will reply:

"It is time to get drunk!"

So that you may not be the martyred slaves of Time,

Get drunk, get drunk,

And never pause for rest!

With wine, poetry, or virtue,

As you choose!

Charles Baudelaire

1821-1867. 

.  

Launch of Boyne Berries 13 (Photos)

Eamon Cooke reads his poem "Renewal"

Caroline Carey Finn reading "Tag"

Barbara Flood reading "The Christmas Tree"

Michael Farry reading "To Tommy Murray in Heaven"
Written by Tom French.

Rory Ó Sullivan reads "Before the Bell Tolled One"

Orla Fay reading "The Big Freeze"

Tom Dredge reading his poem "The Hat"

Launch of Boyne Berries 13, Castle Arch Trim.

Launch of Boyne  Berries 13, Castle Arch Trim.

Framed Cover
Presented by Michael Farry
And
Caroline Carey Finn.

On what must have been one of the wettest nights of the year a fair size crowd turned out for the launch of the above with Caroline Carey Finn giving the opening speech and Michael Farry doing the intros between the readings. Myself, I was nicely surprised to be presented with a framed copy of the cover and it was an honour to be asked to say a few words beforehand. The magazine has put this part of Meath and especially Trim on the literary map and as I mentioned in the speech it owes much to any number of things but in particular to the energy and commitment of Michael Farry and others on the editorial board and not forgetting the Writers Group and those who have contributed work over the years. This thirteenth issue paid a special   mention  to the  to the late Tommy Murray with a fine tribute poem by Tom French of the Meath County Library on the opening page of the contributions.Tommy was the leader of the Meath Writers' Circle from the early nineties until he passed away last November and I believe a signed copy of the poem is to be presented to the family. Worthwhile getting your hands on a copy of the magazine if you're interested in the poetry or short story scene in Ireland as some of its best writers are here and it is certainly one for the collection. Photos of the launch to follow!   

Launch of "Boyne Berries 13"

Launch of "Boyne Berries 13"

Tommy
with one of his
Poet of Fingal Trophies.

Pride of place in the latest issue of "Boyne Berries" goes to Tom French of the Meath County Library for his fine tribute poem to the late Tommy Murray "To Tommy Murray in Heaven", which leads off on page five. The magazine will be launched in The Castle Arch Hotel in Trim tomorrow night at 8 pm with myself getting to say a few words so if you happen to be in the south Meath area and in need of a little entertainment  why not drop in for a while. Admission is free!  The magazine is the usual excellent production with contributions from both home and abroad and there are some very interesting titles and pieces inside, I'm sure, but will have to wait for now. Some of Ireland's best known writers are here as well those that are more local so it's bound to make for an interesting read. A copy of the magazine can be had by clicking on the link to Michael Farry's site over to the right or Boyne Writers and Antonia's Bookshop in Trim is sure to have copies for sale. Priced at €8 and a must for your collection!   

Withnail And I

Indulging myself while trying to figure out what has changed on the "Share" button on youtube this excellent excerpt from Withnail And I came up, which is what I intended anyway. So here goes and I hope it works this time. Michael Parkinson once remarked that the sixties were ten years spent celebrating mediocrity but "Danny" if you go to wiki quotes had it a little different, "They're selling hippy wigs in Woolworth's man. The greatest decade in the history of the world is over and as Presuming Ed here has so consistently pointed out, we have failed to paint it black". Really worth a visit over to wikiqoutes for more on the above. Talk to you! With thanks to you who posted.

Olympiad Testimonial Booklet.

Testimonial Booklet.

The "Scurlogstown Olympiad Testimonial Booklet" is as I said before to a fair old standard, and includes contributions from members of the Writers' Circle as well as a note on the passing of Tommy Murray. The booklet is a fine tribute to both John Wiseman and Madge Cook of the Olympiad Committee and the contribution they have made over the years to the success of the festival and other ventures. John has a fine little number included on the folk group "The Dubliners", though given their international standing they were  more than just that. Sadly now the members of the group have either passed on or gone their separate ways and maybe John might think of putting that piece to a little bit of music some day. John is also a member of The Writers' Circle. Madge I believe, has connections to a number of other events as well. Poems on Tommy Murray included in the booklet are by Carmel Murray his daughter, and Joan Leech with a prose contribution from Tess Ryan. The cover picture is of the 1000 year old 7 Arch Pack Horse Bridge located across the Knightbrook River at the Rock, Scurlogstown. The section on the "Light Of Other Days" mentions other members of the group who have passed on and Séamus Ó Dróma writes a piece on "The Future" and the plans for the development of a Heritage Park at Scurlogstown  And before I finish I must mention, delighted to be included in there myself.     

The Meath Writers' Circle (Meeting) March

The Meath Writers' Circle 

Almost forgot to take a photo!

About nine or ten people turned out last Thursday evening for the monthly meeting of the Writers' Circle on what was a very rainy night indeed. Not as many as the previous month but allowing for the weather and that some were on holidays or in sunnier climes, not so bad. Talk of gathering material for a book later in the year but funding it might be another problem! Interesting to see where it all goes. Some of the poems and short stories that were read might end up being included and sounded very good indeed. Got my hands on a copy of the "Testimonial" booklet for John Wiseman and Madge Cook of The Scurlogstown Olympiad Committee  from Carmel Murray and it is very well produced. A fair old standard to come up and nice to have a couple of pieces inside. Will give a mention the next time. 

"Heart in Mouth" Poetry Competition

"Heart in Mouth" Poetry Competition

Now here's an interesting one, Ireland's first ever poetry prize for original audio poetry. This is an event devised and curated by performance poets Dave Lordan and Colm Keegan and supported by Fingal county Council. Both of these gentlemen will be familiar to anyone interested in the poetry scene in Ireland and are regular contributors to the Arena Arts show on RTE Radio. Colm is a winner of the All Ireland Poetry Slam Championship back in 2010 and four times nominated for the Hennessy New Irish Writing Award while Dave is the first writer to win Ireland's three national prizes for young poets. So no pressure there! They will judge the entries on the basis of the content of the work as well as on the strength of the reading so get working on your microphone skills. The winner will receive an iPOD, and along with two runners up will be invited to partake at the Heart-in-Mouth performance poetry showcase on Saturday April 27th. So what do you have to do. 

(1) Create an audio file of your best and most heart-felt work and send it to Lilian Whelan at lilian.whelan@fingalcoco.ie or check with Fingal Libraries for further details. The blurb says an MP3 file but I believe any audio file will do. 

(2) The work should be original and not previously published and you have until April 20th to submit your entries. No limit on how many you can enter but check it out! 

For those who would have difficulty in creating the audio file, your computer will need a sound card and microphone or just nab somebody who looks younger than you and has a mobile to their ear.  Info from Fingal County Council Website.

The Meath Writers' Circle Video (1) March 2013

Attracta Moore

Attracta Moore gives a reading here of James Shirley's "Death the Leveller".