Here we are, the final two weeks of the Poetry Project…

It has been a fabulous run and we so thankful to all the artists and poets who have made this project possible. But we are also so proud of the subscribers and followers of the project who have made this whole event a global affair!

To celebrate we are running one final competition and the prize will be a limited edition print from artist Poppy Hunt’s video The Long Lane  and a copy of Theo Dorgan’s poem ‘Wild Orchids Wild Flowers’, handwritten by the poet, which was paired with Poppy’s video.

All you have to do is write us a poem in response to any one of the videos from the project so far. The poem doesn’t have to be a literal interpretation, it’s totally up to you!

Poems and the tile of the video to info@thepoetryproject.ie by September 16th please.

The winner will have their poem displayed on the Poetry Project website, and will be announced before the end of September.

Penultimate COMPETITION!

In Dairena Ní Chinnéide’s poem Suantraí na Meánmhara / Mediterranean Lullaby is the line: “shnámh sí lena súile oscailte”, which translates into English as “she swam with her eyes open”. To win a year’s subscription to the Poetry Ireland review, tell us what you did in your childhood that you never do now (but perhaps you’d like to!).

Answers by August 25 to info@thepoetryproject.ie

Winner announced…

Congratulations to Mary Corkery!

“I wrote this [poem] once, about hiding in the bathroom to read poetry. What is lost now is the sense of it being a bit off-the-wall, secret, something you had to hide. Some of the magic is lost in reading poetry at a desk or in the living room. SometimesI take poetry to odd places or parks to read.”

‘What You Hide’ – Mary Corkery

Are you clever as a fox?

In Dennis O’Driscoll’s poem ‘While Stocks Last’, the poet has the gorgeous phrase “the robin’s eagle eye”. To win a copy of New and Selected Poems, by Dennis O’Driscoll, just tell us what is your favourite animal metaphor (and we welcome ones of your own making!).

Answers by August 18 please, to info@thepoetryproject.ie.

Winner announced…

Congratulations to Padraic Harvey!

Padraic wrote us an entire poem,
our favourite and prize winning line is: His tail curled out /  Like TS Eliot

‘Black Cat, White Goods’, by Padraic Harvey

We are delighted to congratulate Sinéad on her recent appointment as Belfast’s first poet Laureate.

In the role as Poet Laureate, Sinéad will engage the people of Belfast through poetry, using community outreach to art groups, language organisations and minority groups.  She has also been commissioned to produce a series of poems about Belfast and the year as the city’s Poet that explores the theme ‘My City’ / ‘Mo Chathair Féin’.

Speaking about her appointment Sinéad said: “Belfast is a city with an extraordinary literary tradition, especially in relation to poetry. I am therefore hugely honoured to be appointed Belfast’s first Poet Laureate, and am excited to celebrate and explore further both the city and poetry in the year ahead.”

Roisín McDonough, Chief Executive, at the Arts Council commented, “The Arts Council is delighted that the Lord Mayor has chosen Sinéad Morrissey as Belfast’s first Poet Laureate.  Sinéad has been an outstanding voice in contemporary poetry for 15 years, winning multiple prestigious awards, including a Major Individual Artist award from the Arts Council and she is currently shortlisted for the 2013 Forward Prize for Poetry. In her role as Belfast Poet Laureate, Sinéad will bring poetry to all the people of Belfast, reflecting the creativity of women and their contribution to the historical and contemporary life and character of the city.”

You can watch (or rewatch!) John Halpin’s video Driving Alone on a Snowy Evening, which is paired with Sinéad’s poem ‘Driving Alone on a Snowy Evening (After Frost)’ here.

This week’s poem, is Cathal O’Searchaigh’s An t-amMarfach, a haunting look at life and hope, and their opposites… In Gabriel Rosenstock’s English translation, the words ground and sound, lie and sky echo across the lines. To win this week’s prize, the summer edition of the Poetry Ireland Review, and a copy of 8 0ld Irish potatoes by Erica Van Horn & Simon Cutts 2011, we’d like you to write a short poem using these words too.

Closing date 11th August, entries to info@thepoetryproject.ie

Winner announced…

Congratulations to Conor Kelly!

A Round

by Conor Kelly

This week we’d like you to think back (or presently!) and tell us the most poetic song lyric you have ever heard. This week’s prize will be a signed edition of art publication Travelogue, titled ‘The Last Travelogue of Joseph M.’ by Stephen Brandes, plus a summer edition of Poetry Ireland Review.

Answers by August 4 please, to info@thepoetryproject.ie

Winner announced…

Congratulations to John Saunders!

‘Overview’ by Macdara Woods is a night time meditation. To keep you up at night, this week’s competition is a series of riddles – the answers are all poets, and the prize, a copy of Contemporary Irish Poetry, edited by Paul Muldoon, will be drawn from the correct entries.

Answer all 5!

1. In the cold I make patterns on the grass, and lovely tracery on the glass.
2. In the sun I lay to dream, with no use for factor cream.
3. As a poet I had great fame, but always thought it a great shame, to hear the anagram of my name.
4. In the theatre, not caring a bit – that my seat was in the gallery, but my feet in the pit.
5. On a lake isle, which nobody hates, a fellow asked me “are you the poet, Mr…”?

Answers by July 28 please, to info@thepoetryproject.ie

Winner announced…

Congratulations to Margaret O’Driscoll!

This week’s poem is ‘A Navy Skirt’, by Thomas McCarthy, in which, like Proust’s famous madeleines, the sight of a skirt on the floor takes the poet back in time.
So to win this week’s prize – a one year subscription to Ireland’s Poetry Review magazine – tell us what sight, smell or taste takes you back in time.

Answers by July 21 please, to info@thepoetryproject.ie

Winner announced…

Congratulations to Linda Saccoccio!

This week’s poem is ‘Tinnitus’, by John McAuliffe,  so for our competition we’d like you to tell us which line of poetry, lyric or phrase gets stuck in your head … and our winner will be gifted a Patron-level Friendship of the Royal Hibernian Academy, worth €150!

Answers by July 14 please, to info@thepoetryproject.ie

Winner announced…

Congratulations to Phil Dunne!

We are taking a cue from this weeks poem ‘Cothú’ by Gabriel Rosenstock…

An Ghiofógais atá ar ghráinneog?                  /              The Romany for a hedgehog?
Parchywechy!                             /              Parchywechy!

Tell us the most fabulous/interesting/intriguing words you have heard on your travels, english or otherwise and their translation.

Our prize this weeek is a Summer 2013 edition of the Poetry Ireland Review, essential reading for all those who love poetry!

Answers by July 7 please, to info@thepoetryproject.ie

Winner announced…

Congratulations to Brenda Kane!

Churumbel – Spanish – baby or small child

Why Brenda chose ‘churumbel’…
“It is a word that sounds onomatopoeic, noisy at first, then softening into beauty, just like a child!”