Carrick-on-Suir's Poetry Plus group invites more writers to join in autumn as it looks back on busy season

Caption for picture above: Poetry Plus founder Margaret O'Brien (centre) with poets Heather Bourbeau and Anne Casey at the final Poetry Plus session before the summer break

The Carrick-on-Suir monthly open mic, Poetry Plus, held in the tearoom of Brewery Lane Theatre, has finished another successful season.

It was a wonderful six months - with the regular and lively open mic for the months of January, February and March.
Then in April, Poetry Plus formed part of the annual Brewery Lane Writers’ Weekend, the latter skillfully led by writers Grace Wells and Cathy Fitzgerald.

In May the regular participants were joined by special guest writer John McKenna who read from his book, Absent Friend, a tribute to his thirty year friendship with Leonard Cohen.

John, who can regularly be heard on RTE’s Sunday Miscellany, was accompanied on stage by musicians Katie Jaques (on ukulele) and Angela Keogh (cello) and there were many fans of Leonard Cohen in the audience.

This was followed by book signings, conversations about Cohen, his music, and shared memories of concerts, and then the regular open mic in the tearoom.

For the final Poetry Plus on Friday, June 30 we were joined by internationally renowned poets Anne Casey, from Clare and who lives in Sydney, Australia, with Heather Bourbeau, from the US.

IRISH LAUNCH

This was the occasion of the Irish launch, by writer Margaret O’Brien, of their collaborative collection Some Days the Bird, published by Beltway Editions, New York.

The poems in this widely acclaimed collection were written over 52 weeks in 2021, the second year of the pandemic, when Anne and Heather exchanged handwritten poems each week, by post, tracking the personal and the global through their keen poetic eyes from their bases in Australia and the United States respectively.

Anne’s heart and thoughts were also of course with family in Ireland, during that time of lockdowns and the consequent difficulties, separations and challenges right around the world.

The handwritten poems that form Some Days the Bird have now been archived in the UCD Special Collection in Dublin.

CARRICK-ON-SUIR
Poetry Plus has been running in Carrick-on-Suir for more than a decade, with thanks to everyone at Brewery Lane Theatre for their help and support and, of course, the participants who have come to share words and enjoy each other’s company. The format is simple, the best things always are, and everyone is welcome.

It is open to anyone who wants to read a poem or two or simply to listen and enjoy. Margaret O’Brien, who founded Poetry Plus initially because there was nothing like this in the area, comments that she has had the satisfaction of seeing people come as nervous first-timers, go on to flourish, some as published writers.

POSITIVE RIPPLES
But she knows from her own experience, and as an affiliate of Amherst Writers & Artists, that there are many other positive ripples that go out from being part of this generous creative community, not least the friendships that have grown.

As Margaret says, “It’s about writing, but it’s always about more than writing”.

For anyone interested, the dates for the autumn series are: Fridays, September 29, October 27, November 17, December 15.
The start time is 8pm, the venue is the tearoom of Brewery Lane Theatre.