GALWAY: June Over The Edge Writers’ Gathering

Thursday, June 28th, 2012, 6.30pm-8pm, FREE

Galway City Library

Augustine Street,

Galway

The June Over The Edge Writers’ Gathering presents readings by Wexford-born poet Eamonn Wall, Tipperary-based poet Eleanor Hooker, visiting American poet Donna Potts, local poets Deirdre Kearney and Dave Rock and much more. The evening will include the Galway Launch of Donna Potts’ debut poetry collection Waking Dreams (Salmon Poetry) and Eamonn Wall’s latest poetry collection, Sailing Lake Mareotis (Salmon Poetry). There will also be a short reading from Revival Press’s Sextet anthology. 

Eleanor Hooker lives in North Tipperary. She has an MPhil in Creative Writing (Distinction) from Trinity College, Dublin. She is a founding member and Vice-Chairperson of the Dromineer Literary Festival. She is a helm and Press Officer for the Lough Derg RNLI Lifeboat. In 2011: she was selected for the Poetry Ireland Introductions Series. In February 2012, her debut collection of poetry, The Shadow Owner’s Companion was launched by The Dedalus Press.


Donna Potts grew up in Joplin, Missouri and is a professor at Kansas State University. In 1994 her book length study of the poetry of Howard Nemerov was published by University of Missouri Press. Her book on contemporary Irish poetry is forthcoming also from University of Missouri press. Her own debut collection of poetry, Waking Dreams, is just published by Salmon Poetry. This is the book’s Galway launch.

A native of Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford, Eamonn Wall lives in Missouri, where he teaches at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. His poetry has  been included in anthologies in Ireland and the United States including The Book of Irish-American Poetry from the 18th Century to the Present & Irish Writing in the Twentieth Century: a Reader. Eamonn’s essays, articles, and reviews in The Irish Times, New Hibernia Review, The Washington Post & Chicago Tribune. Through his involvement in the Launchpad and Scallta Media initiatives, which he helped set up to encourage the development of young writers and artists in Co. Wexford,  he has continued to play a role in the artistic life of Co. Wexford. Sailing Lake Mareotis, Eamonn’s fifth collection of poems, was published by Salmon Poetry last November.

Deirdre Kearney is originally from Omagh, Co Tyrone and has lived in Galway since 1983. Her grandfather Felix Kearney, a well-known poet and songsmith, was the author of the Hills above Drumquin.  She is a cousin of the world-renowned guitarist Arty McGlynn. Her poetry has been published in: The Shop, ROPES, Cúirt New Writing, The Ulster Herald, Crannóg, and Treóir - the magazine of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann. Her work was included in Dogs Singing published by Salmon, and various collections published by Skylight Poets group of poets in Galway. Her first collection of poetry Spiddal Pier was published in 2009 by Lapwing Press. She is currently working on her next collection.

Dave Rock is a Galway based poet. His work has been published in a number of major journals. He has placed in the top three or four in several major poetry slams. He teaches creative writing, storytelling, and Beautiful Free Speech in Ireland and the UK. Last year he quit a PhD in social theory in order to pursue a life full time in poetry. So far it seems to be working out well. Dave is the director of the InkStorm Poetry Depot, a project which sees both established and up-and-coming poets sitting down one to one with members of the public to create poetry from their lives. The Poetry Depot has of late been a successful feature of literary and culture festivals across Ireland, most recently at Cúirt. Dave’s poetry is often weighted between praising and puzzling over life, with perhaps slightly more praise.

Sextet is an anthology of six poets with Limerick connections published by Revival Press in 2010. The six poets are Louis Mulcahy, John Pinschmidt, Sheila Fitzpatrick O’ Donnell, Bridget Wallace, Joe Healy and Evelyn Casey. Three of them - Sheila Fitzpatrick O’ Donnell, Bridget Wallace & Joe Healy – will each read one of their poems from Sextet, which will be on sale at the reading.

After the reading we will be retiring for refreshments to the House Hotel.