Nov '24
11
We had a fantastic launch on Friday 8 November 2024 of my poetry collection, ‘Grace Notes’, published by Salmon Poetry, at The Allingham Festival in Ballyshannon, Co Donegal. I was so moved at the number of people who made an effort to be there: my sister Susan Coakley and her husband Daragh, my brother Tony and his wife Marie, and my brother James flew over from England as a surprise, as well as several close friends. And of course my dearest Robert Rath.
Local writer Win McNulty and I decided we would structure the launch as an interview/conversation. Win drew out of me many key points about the collection and its structure, how I came to focus on Gráinne Mhaol and voices/voicings as themes, my ideas about writing with and through constraints, and my rescued poetry process. It was a great conversation, and I’m very grateful to Win for all her background work and her intelligent, thoughtful and considered questions. We’re hoping to post video highlights publicly soon, so I’ll keep you updated.
I'm very grateful to The Allingham Festival committee for including me on the festival programme and for providing a beautiful space. I feel very privileged that my book launched on the 200th anniversary of the birth of William Allingham.
I'm particularly indebted to Tony and Marie Liston for arranging the amazing wine and canapés reception, and for looking after all the logistics associated with the event.
And of course my deepest gratitude goes to Jessie Lendennie and Siobhan Hutson Jeanotte of Salmon Poetry for publishing my work in such a beautiful form. The book itself is a work of art.
Christmas is coming, dear readers, so you might like to buy a few books as gifts for the bookworms and poetry lovers in your life! Order the book directly from the Salmon Poetry website. They ship worldwide!
