Little Jimmy Dickens -- Shopping For Dresses

The theme of our next meeting is something on "Romance" and I could have selected a poem by Shakespeare or Rumi or Andrew Marvell, or countless others, or even something more modern but here's a singer/songwriter from the great age of country and western and with a voice and delivery that our modern friends can only dream of. Not well known in Ireland and there are many versions of this, great ones by Merle Haggard and Randy Travis, but Jimmy wrote it! With thanks to J.W. Gauntt who posted and youtube.

The Dermot Healy International Poetry Competition 2016!

The Dermot Healy International Poetry Competition 2016!

Here's one to send an entry to and with the closing date fast approaching. As you can see from the above poster there's a fair old prize to be won but for the full details check out on site. Competition rules and entry form to be downloaded from site:

 www.fiveglensartsfestival.com  

Tim Minchin - Hallelujah

I came across this guy a few years back on the "Emerging Writer" Blog, doing "Storm" and just browsing, here he is with Geraldine Quinn at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival back in 2005. Great version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah". Loaded by Sean Joseph and with thanks to youtube. Enjoy!

Jonathan Swift Creative Writing Awards!

Jonathan Swift Creative Writing Awards!
Saggart Heritage & Arts Centre.

The closing date for the above is the 31st of August so plenty of time to get the pen out. Poems must not exceed 45 lines and entries to be typed in plain font Times New Roman point 12 single spacing on plain white A4 sheet, without decoration or illustration. Entries in either Irish or English and submissions will not be returned. The entrant's name must not appear on the typescript and only on the entry form. A cover charge of €4 per poem, or 3 poems for €10 with a max of 6 poems, €5 for prose. Entry made payable to: Jonathan Swift Creative Writing Awards. Ms Maria Wallace, Award winning Catalan/Tallagh Author and Poet will judge the competition. Judge's decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. Winners will be notified seven days in advance and must be prepared to read their work if possible at the awards night at the Heritage Centre in Saggart County Dublin on the 15th of October 2016.

Entries to: Margaret Ennis "Teach Giuise", Boherboy, Saggart, County Dublin.

Maria Wallace and Mervyn Ennis

 

Dromineer Literary Festival 2016/Competitions!

Dromineer Literary Festival 2016/Competitions!

From Google Images

The closing date for the above competitions, both poetry and flash fiction is the 22nd of August and entrants must be over 18 years of age. The number of entries you can send in is unlimited and the entry fees are €5 per poem and €10 for flash fiction. The prizes are very generous with €500, €350 and €150 in that order for first, second and third respectively so well worth getting the pen out. The judges for this year's competitions are Colette Bryce for poetry and Anthony Galvin for flash fiction. You may enter by post or by e-mail and download an entry form and details of the competitions from their website. 

www.dromineerliteraryfestival.ie/Competitions

Boyne Berries 20!

Boyne Berries 20!

Orla Fay

The closing date for submissions to the above is Sunday the 24th of July at midnight. You can send up to three poems of no more than 40 lines and fiction or prose of no more than 1500  words. Use Times New Roman 12, single spacing and include a short Bio. Send as a Microsoft Word Attachment and be sure to check out on "Boyne Berries" and "Orla Fay" blogs for exact details. Links to the right! Submissions which fail to adhere to requirements will be ignored. The Boyne Berries literary magazine attracts submissions from all over the world and has published some of Ireland's best known writers. 

E-mail: orla.a.fay@gmail.com

The Meath Writers' Circle/Meeting July 2016!

The Meath Writers' Circle/Meeting July 2016!

The July meeting of The Meath Writers' Circle saw the following members elected for the coming year. 

Chairperson: Willie G. Hodgins. Vice-Chairperson: Eugene Kane. Treasurer: Sean Kane. Secretary: Paul Martin and Assistant Secretary: Carmel Murray. A number of projects were discussed also the publication and theme of our yearly magazine which will hopefully be out by December. 

Chiedza Pasipanodya Reading "Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou

Watching a documentary on Serena Williams I came across this poem and there's a video of her reciting it on youtube. I watched a few versions of the poem including some by the poet herself and you can check them out, but I think this is the best one. Posted by the Ride or Die project and with thanks to youtube.

Steve Earle - Dixieland

The "Killer Angels" is a novel on the battle of Gettysburg written by Michael Shaara and was a Pulitzer Prize winner in 1975 and if you haven't read it yet, go find! The above clip is from the "Operation Ceasefire Concert" in Washington D.C. in September 2005, but I'll let Steve do the intros. With thanks to youtube and jackynjimy who posted.  

Eric Bogle - The Green Fields of France

The Green Fields of France is perhaps one of the best anti-war songs ever written and there are many versions of the above but this is the original by the man who wrote it. Our recent book to mark the centenary of the 1916 Rising included a ballad by Jimmy Peppard of Trim, (The First Day of July) which was about the battle of the Somme and was of the same high standard. The battle took place or began one hundred years and today marks the first day of that engagement. Interesting the first day of July in 1863 was the beginning of the battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War and in that too a significant number of Irishmen would die. I'll have to see if I can find something on that. Up next. With thanks to youtube and Grant O' Neill who posted.