Ennistymon part of Poetry Town initiative

ENNISTYMON has been chosen as one of the towns in the Poetry Town initiative, which will see more than a hundred poetry-related activities take place in 20 locations across the island of Ireland.

As a result Ennistymon will host an exciting range of events, which will take place from 10th to 18th September.

The Poetry Town initiative from Poetry Ireland celebrates the pride, strength and diversity of our towns.

The Poet Laureate for Ennistymon is Grace Wells, who has been invited to compose a poem about the town as part of her Laureate role. She will be unveiling her poem written for Ennistymon at the Courthouse Gallery and Studios at 7:30pm on Saturday, September 11. The poem will be available to read on the Poetry Town website and the Clare Arts Office website in the days following the event.

Further activities will include a series of poetry events involving local poets and community groups such as Tidy Towns and local schools.

Knute Skinner will host an adult poetry workshop with Chris Wood playing a few tunes. Ennistymon Tidy Towns project are creating an installation of driftwood and washed-up discarded waste from the ocean entitled ‘Poetry Recycled Recited’. The artist Aine O’Brien will twin this piece with poetry from Brian Merriman’s poem, ‘The Midnight Court.’

Aindrias de Staic will lead a Performance Poetry Walking Tour called ‘Stories and Scribes of a Market Town’, while Jessie Lendennie from Salmon Publishing will host a nature writing workshop. Artist Marianne Slevin will write lines from a selection of poems in various locations on the footpaths with invisible ink so when you’re out and about in Ennistymon after a rain shower, look down. Lines of poetry will appear, as if by magic.

Director of Poetry Ireland, Niamh O’Donnell, said: “The idea behind Poetry Town is to celebrate the many vibrant towns and communities across the island of Ireland, through poetry, collaboration and communal experiences.

“Over the past 18 months, many of us have become more aware of what’s around us – from local parks or nature walks, to landmarks and monuments, to the stories held within the collective memory of our communities. There is poetry waiting to be uncovered in our surroundings and our everyday lives.

“We are excited to invite individuals, families and communities to join their Poetry Towns, or the Poetry Towns in their vicinity, in a vibrant celebration of the pride in their locality, the value and importance of our heritage, and the strength and diversity in our towns and rural areas.”

Poetry Town is an initiative of Poetry Ireland in partnership with Local Authority Arts Offices. It is made possible with funding from the Arts Council of Ireland’s Open Call and is also supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.