Windy Writing

I haven’t been blogging much recently because I’ve been trying to stay away from the Internet and do some serious writing.

Not that the Internet isn’t home to some serious writing … of course it is. It’s just also home to nonsense like this and this and this, all of which are ludicrously addictive.

But I wanted to take a moment to blog about some reading/writing events that I’ve attended recently.

I’m aware of the irony of taking to the Internet to tell you why I haven’t been on the Internet much, and then telling you to go check out some links.

Your withering disapproval is noted.

Firstly, big fluffy shoutout to Tanya Farrelly and David Butler, both for their respective publication milestones (a short story collection and a debut novel from her, and a fine collection of poetry from him), and for their monthly get-together, STACCATO (at which I have read on a few occasions). It’s a great showcase of poetry, prose and music, and it’s always a joy to pop along to Toner’s and meet several poets and writers.

Kevin Bateman, good poet and general all-round good bloke, hosts a semi-regular spoken word event: everyone has poetry readings, but how many broadcast them live via Persicope. Kevin invited me to take part in his most recent event: an outdoor, very windy reading in Rostrevor.

If you’d like a giggle, take a gander at the video here.

David Atkinson, Gillian Hamill, Eamonn McGuinness, Me, Kevin Bateman, Csilla Toldy – all of us trying to look suitably ‘writer-y’ and not ‘I’m freezing my arse off-y’

We all looked very windswept as we stood in the open and read our works. As we were trudging up the hill, buffeted by the wind and unsure where Kevin was leading us, one of my fellow readers, Hungarian poet Csilla Toldy, turned to me and commented ‘the things we do for poetry.’

Rostrevor, by the way, inspired C.S. Lewis and was the model for Narnia.

source: Ryan Simpson / Flickr

Kevin’s spoken word event is shortlisted for a Saboteur award – you can vote for him here, along with other writers and poets in various categories.

There’s also The Collective, a monthly event in Ranelagh – music, poetry, spoken word, storytelling, and general good vibes.

source: Angela Carr

Finally, a big thanks to poet Angela Carr, who every month provides an exhaustive list of writing competitions at her blog.