“Bookends”

 Thursday 4^th October at 11.00am

A special radio broadcast on Dundalk FM I00 to celebrate All Ireland Poetry Day

 The Arts Service of Louth Local Authorities, in association with Dundalk FM 100 and Poetry Ireland present –

“Bookends”, a celebration of poetry to mark All Ireland Poetry Day

As part of the activities to mark All-Ireland Poetry Day, the Arts Service of Louth Local Authorities is organising “Bookends”, a programme of poetry and opinion which is being broadcast by Dundalk FM 100.  Building on previous radio programmes broadcast to mark All Ireland Poetry Day, the show will be hosted by Eileen Corcoran, and will feature a wide range of people from the area, reading their own poems, as well as poems which mean something to them, and discussing the relevance of poetry in Irish society today.

“Bookends” will be broadcast on Dundalk FM 100 on October 4^th at 11am.   This event is part of the celebrations for All Ireland Poetry Day, which is co-ordinated by Poetry Ireland. “Bookends” is an initiative of the Arts Service of Louth Local Authorities.

“Bookends” will focus on two books of poetry which were launched in Dundalk recently – “The Angels Share”, by Barbara Smith, and “Once Upon Reflection” by Petra Berntssen.   Barbara holds an MA from Queens University Belfast, and has been awarded many poetry prizes and bursaries. She has read at literary gatherings in Ireland, Edinburgh and London, and she is also an enthustaic reader of her own work with The Poetry Divas and the Prufrocks. ”The Angel’s Share” is her second collection to be published by Doghouse Books, and it was launched in May in the Basement Gallery, Dundalk.

Petra Berntsson is a visual artist born in Sweden and now living in Dundalk. She has always had a love of the written word and poetry, so it was a natural decision for her to combine her paintings with writing. Once the thought of compiling a book had rooted, she set about contacting writers and poets, connections happened naturally and poems emerged from paintings, and paintings grew from words. The end result, “Once Upon Reflection” is a book of paintings and poetry, inspired by Petra’s years living in Ireland, and it too was launched in the Basement Gallery in June.

Joining Barbara and Petra for the programme will be four local people who will read poetry which has inspired, enthralled or otherwise impacted on them. They are –

Cllr. Jennifer Green, Cathaoirleach, Dundalk Town Council.  Jennifer graduated from Dundalk Instuite of Technology with a degree in Cultural Studies, and was unanimously elected Cathaoirleach of Dundalk Town Council in June, making her the first female Sinn Féin Councillor to hold the position.

Pat Keating.  Pat recently graduated from The Open University with a Degree in Humanities.  She is an active participant in the cultural life of Dundalk, and was a founder member of “The Company of Six”, who devised and performed a performance based on the works of Patrick Kavanagh.

Tommy Kelly, is a visual artist, comic writer, and social commentator.  Among his comic book publications are “Road Crew”, “Something Wonderful”, and “The Holy Numbers”.  He is also a musician and music tutor.

Cathal Cassidy, Broadcaster, Dundalk FM 100. Cathal has presented a number of very popular programmes on Dundalk 100 FM.

“We’re delighted to be working with Dundalk 100 FM once again on a radio programme dedicated to poetry”, says County Arts Officer, Brian Harten.  “Everybody has a favourite poem, and “Bookends” will encourage people to think about the poems which have made an impression on them in the past.  As well as that, it’s good to be reminded that Ireland is still producing really good poets, and whether we’re in the middle of a boom or a recession, people still write poetry and people still read it.  It’s part of what makes us human.”