Anti-Laureate of the People's Republic of Cork

What a fantastic post. I have met that type in wor...

2012-05-18T17:33:45.379+01:00

What a fantastic post. I have met that type in workshops. They are usually very shouty with lots of swagger and little substance.

I love the sound of this poem and I hope the loony tunes description made it into it. And that you got it to work for you.

No one could determine the sex from many of the fo...

2012-01-14T01:24:54.581Z

No one could determine the sex from many of the forenames.

Interesting the weighting in favour of women. I wo...

2012-01-13T22:35:28.464Z

Interesting the weighting in favour of women. I wonder how that compares to the proportion submitting. (But no one would wade through 1700 entries to count I suppose!)

What a fantastic post! Should be part of all creat...

2011-11-30T15:07:20.214Z

What a fantastic post! Should be part of all creative writing/poetry classes at university and before. So glad I found this blog. I'll be back

His reviews are widely discussed. The conclusion? ...

2011-06-06T19:16:18.614+01:00

His reviews are widely discussed. The conclusion? Nobody cares what he says because he is so uniformly at odds with other reviewers' and readers' take on books. (I realise that is a terrible sentence!) KK didn't 'get' my last novel. I would have been shocked if he had! To my mind he is the classic failed writer turned reviewer.

I just love this found poem, Pat. Perfect. Well sp...

2011-03-02T10:47:24.977Z

I just love this found poem, Pat. Perfect. Well spotted & well done.

I get tinnitus (mild) when I am anxious. I am going to roll my eyes around to get rid of it. Score!

Tinnitus, the disruptive ringing in the ears that ...

2011-03-02T01:31:28.205Z

Tinnitus, the disruptive ringing in the ears that affects millions of people, originates not in the ear but in the brain, and not even exclusively in the brain's auditory centers, a new study has shown.

In research published Monday in Neurology, scientists at UB and the Buffalo VA Medical Center show that some people with tinnitus can change the ear-ringing by specific eye movements, evidence that one sensory system can affect another.

"These findings show us that in many cases, tinnitus is not caused by a simple disturbance of brain function, but by a combination of things, including an abnormal interaction between the visual and auditory systems," said Alan H. Lockwood, first author on the study. Lockwood is professor of neurology, nuclear medicine, and communicative disorders and sciences and directs the Center for Positron Emission tomography (PET), a joint UB/VA venture.

Hi! I have enjoyed reading your blog and have awar...

2011-02-28T16:56:25.370Z

Hi! I have enjoyed reading your blog and have awarded you a stylish blogger award. For more details visit http://novelistinthemaking.blogspot.com.

I had no idea sales of Best of Irish Poetry...

2011-01-17T16:25:26.983Z

I had no idea sales of Best of Irish Poetry were so low and that the series was so critically ignored -- a sad comment it is, then. And here I just published a review of the 2010 anthology on Todd Swift's blog Eyewear: http://toddswift.blogspot.com/2011/01/guest-review-begnal-on-best-irish.html

Really interesting post. I read that article by JO...

2010-12-22T13:58:55.808Z

Really interesting post. I read that article by JO'C in the IT praising the hell out of Soundings but I agree with you that the success of that reissue says nothing about an interest in poetry. I find it sad that the last poem many people have read is one that was on their school syllabus.
Soundings did have some great poems but where were all the great women and indeed American poets? Why were all the Irish poets called Anglo-Irish? The idea that being Irish and writing poetry in English automatically made you Anglo-Irish always confused me.
In the UK poetry seems to be actively promoted by organizations like the BBC and London Underground and poems are often used in British and American films. In Leiden where I live we have poems on hundreds of walls around the city (website here). Poetry can be modern, relevant and part of every day life but the kind of back clapping about Soundings is not really the point in the same ways as the Irish Songs We Learned at School CD said nothing about people's true commitment to the Irish language.
It is a pity to hear about the demise of your anthology, it certainly sounds interesting to me. I had never heard of it before but anthologies are always great to give a flavour of many different styles so you would have thought that there was a market.

Yes the lack of women in Soundings is quite mad. I...

2010-11-30T21:28:12.290Z

Yes the lack of women in Soundings is quite mad. I hated the bloody thing in school but I remember so much from it I was almost moved to buy it. Then I saw that the ever present Joseph O'Connor did the back cover blurb and I didn't buy it. Why is JOC trotted out at every hand's turn? Grrr. I do like JOC but why is he EVERYWHERE?!?!

Great line up, Pat. Well done to all at Munster Li...

2010-11-29T19:53:09.661Z

Great line up, Pat. Well done to all at Munster Lit. Ye are Trojan workers.

This blog post is like a dagger. Love it, Lory

2010-11-12T19:37:08.074Z

This blog post is like a dagger. Love it, Lory

It is sad that the only two poetry books for sale ...

2010-11-12T17:58:29.561Z

It is sad that the only two poetry books for sale in the whole of the town where I live are whatever Seamus Heaney's latest is and Soundings. No real poetry, no alternative, no choice, in all honesty probably no demand.I'd never heard of your anthology and that's a pity for the both of us. I would have been interested.

I sometimes wonder at the sweeping grandiose arrogance of an establishment calling itself 'Poetry Ireland'when it represents such a narrow bandof the countries poetry.

Yet another so-called culture is born: the very na...

2010-11-04T02:52:34.510Z

Yet another so-called culture is born: the very name gives it away. SLAM: to publically throw the gauntlet down and jump on it!
Slamming has nothing to do with an established poetry scene although slammers will argue they have an ‘established poetry scene’.
The Slam is consciously structured to ignore the courtesy of recognised poetry etiquette or established rules - a deliberate and forceful anti-poetry exercise.
In my personal experience, the genre gives any bolshie ego a chance to stand up in front of a usually-inebriated audience often spouting the bastardized words of others. The performers pretend intellectuality and stick their thumbs up to those who dare turn away. And the loudest, drunken cheer usually wins!
Populated by those who have no chance of publication or main stream recognition, I have been shocked to read some EP’s putting their toes in the water - why instantly destroy your hard-won EP reputation?
Just another instant gratification exercise typical of the era but thankfully, soon forgotten!
This too will pass.

Love it! Imagine being married to a poet - you'...

2010-11-03T16:39:18.743Z

Love it!
Imagine being married to a poet - you'd never talk!

I couldn't agree more. At open mic nights, I h...

2010-03-17T15:51:05.166Z

I couldn't agree more. At open mic nights, I have seen people sitting re-reading their own work throughout the other poets' performances, and then leave as soon as they have have given their reading, or even worse, start chatting with their friends. I concur with WOMEN RULE WRITER above that a lot of these people don't actually read poetry.

Interesting. Maybe this is why I dislike slam? The...

2010-02-25T19:47:43.344Z

Interesting. Maybe this is why I dislike slam? The navelgazing nature of it.
Listening to a lot of the 'poetry' at slams leads me to the conclusion that many of these people don't read poetry.
I avoid them as a rule, though I have acted as judge at 3 of them.

I was there. I love this interview, its informalit...

2010-01-26T13:38:26.398Z

I was there. I love this interview, its informality, the insights. Well done, Pat.
Looking forward to this year's Frank O'Connor Fest already!

Oh, I like the sound of that pub. I'll have to...

2010-01-24T19:49:06.793Z

Oh, I like the sound of that pub. I'll have to go along next time I'm in Cork.

It's a great, eclectic selection. Matthew has ...

2009-12-03T21:16:47.137Z

It's a great, eclectic selection. Matthew has an eye for the absurd which is always refreshing. I will blog this soon.

The novel is fabulous - I avoided it for years bec...

2009-10-14T18:19:56.485+01:00

The novel is fabulous - I avoided it for years because I presumed I knew what it was about (wrongly). Humbert is the classis unreliable narrator and the language zings. I've never seen either film and don't intend to. It would be interesting to see what, say, Jane Campion would do with a film version.

p.s. his studio (Peadar's) is about 100 yards ...

2009-10-09T17:21:01.067+01:00

p.s. his studio (Peadar's) is about 100 yards from my childhood home - I wonder does he allow visitors!?

Well put, Mister. Beautiful stain glass. There'...

2009-10-09T17:19:08.483+01:00

Well put, Mister. Beautiful stain glass. There's Evie Hone glass in the cathedral in Loughrea, 20 miles from me. Worth a look.

I must admit that was the exact line which made me...

2009-10-06T16:27:24.515+01:00

I must admit that was the exact line which made me post the article.