Poetry Ireland has a new director: Joseph Woods. Woods has already been working as the general manager at PI since last June, and as acting director since November. Like Theo Dorgan before him, the latest incumbent at Bermingham Tower in Dublin Castle is a poet. Woods won the 2000 Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award, and his first collection, Sailing to Hokkido, will be published later this year.
Chocolate is a hard decision
I don't know what to do
Shall I pick a raspberry treat?
Or maybe I'll pick two...
Caramel is enticing
White is divine
Turkish is addictive
And all of it is mine.
The above poem, "Chocolate", was penned by nine-year-old Ruth Mooney, from Dublin, and it appears in the current edition of Poetry Ireland News. The newsletter has started running a few poems from schoolchildren per issue, and is looking for more submissions for its education page, which is edited by Jane O'Hanlon. So sharpen your pencils - or log on to your computer - and get writing. Send your poems to Jane at Poetry Ireland News, Bermingham Tower, Dublin Castle, Dublin 2.
Shooting from the Lipis the name of an anthology which has been complied and edited by Re O LaighlΘis. The book is a collection of stories written by Mayo teenagers between 14 and 17, as part of a project in connection with Mayo County Library, to encourage reading. It's a handsome-looking production, with a fine cover by Gleigh Gaughan. The book is available at £7 (includes postage) from Mayo County Library, Castlebar, Co Mayo.
An e-mail from Rattlebagabout their first public interview of the year. It will be with Nick Hornby, wildly popular author of Fever Pitch and High Fidelity. Hornby has just published a new novel, How to be Good, which Sadbh presumes is a title weighed with irony. The interview will be at the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin, at 8 p.m. on June 5th, and would-be audience members can get free tickets by contacting Rattlebag at 01-2083445.
Listowel Writers' Week is coming round again, and Sadbh has been looking at the programme for this year, which runs from next Wednesday to June 3rd. Among the highlights are poet Richard Murphy being interviewed by fellow poet Greg Delanty; Christine Dwyer-Hickey interviewing journalist and novelist Andrew O'Hagan; Bruce Arnold chairing a discussion on writing biography; Michael Smith, author of the very successful An Unsung Hero, Tom Crean, giving the Tim Danagher Memorial Lecture; broadcaster Vincent Browne chairing a discussion forum entitled "Do the politicians deserve our vote?"; and the brilliant travel writer, William Dalrymple, who has written extensively on India, talking about his work. More information from 068-21074.
Sadbh