Books

  • Books:
  • Carnivorous
  • Blood Horses,
  • Beneath The Ice,
  • Snakeskin Stilettos,
  • The Horse's Nest,
  • Miracle Fruit,
  • Selected Poems,
  • The Goose Tree

About Me

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Poet, creative writing facilitator, editor. Experienced mentor for those working towards a first collection. My publishers are Lagan Press, Belfast and Liberties Press, Dublin, who published my Selected Poems in 2012, The Goose Tree in June 2014. Blood Horses was published in 2018 from Caesura Press www.caesurapress.co.uk and a new collection, Carnivorous was published from Doire Press Spring 2019 www.doirepress.com Awarded an Arts Council of NI Major Artist Award in 2019

Wednesday, 29 June 2011

Sadness and pride

On Friday 24th June I attended the closing party for the Community Arts Forum.  It was an evening of mixed emotions. Good to see old friends again and be reminded of projects and successes, but sad to witness the end of an organisation that did such important and innovative work. I am proud to have been involved.

This is the poem I was commissioned to write for CAF's tenth anniversary in May 2003. I think it still captures a little of what the organisation was about.

Substance
a celebration of CAF's first decade

By vision of heart and passion of mind
garnering new ground,
clearing a way
to common possession -
singing against the silence.

We have uncaged the wren,
thrown wide the doors of our hearts
and un-prismed the colours of hope
to dance undaunted: we have tasted
the boundlessness of our imagination

and when I grow tired, you'll lend
me strength, and when you doubt
I will believe: line and curve
our architecture, we'll risk together
the flaw that lets the light come in.

Art for art's sake, art for life's sake,
art for the people's sake -
you and me
for pleasure and truth
and beauty and madness and sanity.

1 comment:

  1. Communities are losing so much cultural wealth it is unbelievable! These small organisation may seem unimportant and easy targets, but they provide essential outlets for creative thought. Expression of self = purpose = content community = productivity. Stop the cuts - false economy!

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