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Galway Arts Centre’s courses for aspiring poets
Galway Arts Centre is offering aspiring poets a choice of three poetry workshops, all facilitated by poet Kevin Higgins, whose debut collection, The Boy with No Face, was short-listed for the 2006 Strong Award for Best First Collection by an Irish poet.
Since then, he has published three more collections with Clare-based Salmon Poetry; Time Gentlemen, Please in 2008, Frightening New Furniture in 2010 and The Ghosts in the Lobby, last year.
His work also appears in the anthology Identity Parade –New British and Irish Poets (Bloodaxe, 2010) and The Hundred Years’ War: Modern War Poems (Bloodaxe 2014).
His poetry has been translated into Greek, Russian, Spanish, Italian, Japanese and Portuguese.
Kevin is satirist-in-residence with the alternative literature website The Bogman’s Cannon. His next book 2016 – The Selected Satires of Kevin Higgins will be published by NuaScéalta shortly. Song of Songs 2:0 – New & Selected Poems will be published by Salmon in Spring 2017.
Kevin is an experienced workshop facilitator and several of his students have gone on to achieve poetic success. One former student of the Arts Centre workshops won the prestigious Hennessy Award for New Irish Poetry, two have won the Cúirt New Writing Prize, and another was awarded the Cúirt Poetry Grand Slam, while several have published poetry collections. Two of those were shortlisted for the Shine-Strong Award for Best First Collection of poems.
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.
An Slipéar Gloine, a retelling in Irish of the age-old classic Cinderella, written by Fearghas Mac Lochlainn from An Spidéal, and illustrated by Paddy Donnelly, won the Judges’ Special Award at the KPMG, Children’s Books Ireland Awards. The book, published by An Spidéal-based Futa Fata, was named winner at an event held in Dublin as part of the International Literary Festival.
While Fearghas has previously translated stories for Futa Fata (An Rás Chuig an Mol Thuaidh and Eachtra Dlúthchara) this is the first book he has written himself. Luaithrín the heroine of An Slipéar Gloine, and her evil sisters Straoisín and Smaoisín have enthralled young readers since the book, written in humorous rhyme, was published in 2022. It won the Gradam Réics Carló in 2022.
Fearghas is well-known for his award-winning agallaimh bheirte and lúibíní and was a guest storytime reader in Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop as part of the Cúirt Festival of Literature in April, when he read An Slipéar Gloine.
Galway’s Patricia Forde, whose books include the award-winning Wordsmith, is Ireland’s new Laureate na nÓg, or Laureate for Children’s Literature. She will hold the title until 2026, having taken over the role from outgoing Laureate, Áine Ní Ghlinn.
City-woman Patricia, a former Artistic Director of Galway Arts Festival and of Baboró Children’s Arts Festival, who began her working life as a primary teacher, was named laureate on Monday at a special event at the Arts Council.
Laureate na nÓg champions and celebrates literature for children and young people, inspiring future writers, illustrators and readers. This Arts Council initiative which honours “an artist of exceptional talent and commitment”, is administered by Children’s Books Ireland supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.
Patricia, who has published more than 20 books, including 2014’s The Wordsmith, writes for young people of all ages, in Irish and in English. The Wordsmith won a White Raven Award from the International Youth Library, it’s an American Library Association Notable Book for Children in the US and it was shortlisted for the Children’s Books Ireland Book of the Year Award.
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.
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The work of 72 students from the art, design, film, and documentary undergraduate programmes of Atlantic Technological University will be officially unveiled this Friday, June 2, at 2pm, in the Galway City Campus building on the Wellpark Road
Film and theatre director Lelia Doolan will open the annual Graduate Show which runs until next Friday, June 11, from 10am to 5pm and is open to the public. Featuring work across a range of media, the show from the ATU’s School of Design and Creative Arts provides students with an opportunity to display their creativity and innovation.
Work on display will include paintings, sculptures, installations, graphic design and illustration, digital art, film and documentary screenings, animations, video game designs, product designs, textiles and fashion designs.
Several hundred guests are expected to attend the exhibition, a popular fixture on Galway’s arts calendar.
“We are immensely proud of the hard work and dedication demonstrated by our students throughout the year,” said the Head of the ATU Dept of Creative Arts & Media Celine Curtin. “The exhibition is a celebration of their achievements and their remarkable talent.”
Students will act as invigilators throughout the week, giving visitors to the show a chance to chat with them.
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