Two local writers to hold reading for Poetry Day Ireland

Athlone will be marking Poetry Day Ireland on Thursday, May 28, with a poetry reading in Athlone Library by well-known poets Tadhg Carey and Jackie Gorman.

The theme for Poetry Day Ireland is Home and both writers will be addressing this in their readings, touching on how poetry can make us feel at home in the world and what home actually means - our families, our community, our environment.

The event takes place at 6pm and will include tea/coffee and refreshments and all are welcome to attend. Please register to attend by contacting Athlone Library on 09064 42157 or email athlib@westmeathcoco.ie

The title of the event is “Writing It Slant”, a play on a line from a famous Emily Dickinson poem “Tell all the truth but tell it slant.”

The poem is an instruction from the poet to always tell the truth but from an angle so as not to overwhelm those who might hear it. Perhaps in poetry itself this instruction comes into its full being as those who write poetry have many devices at their disposal in which to tell the truth of any situation.

The event in Athlone will include two short readings from Tadhg Carey and Jackie Gorman, both of whom are well known poets from Athlone.

Tadhg Carey is a Westmeath Artist Bursary Award recipient and a Freedom to Write Project awardee.

He was a recent participant at the Cork International Poetry Festival, and also read at the Cúirt International Festival New Writing Showcase in 2024.

He was highly commended in the Fool for Poetry International Chapbook 2024 competition. His work has appeared in Southword, The Stony Thursday Book, Skylight 47, and Honest Ulsterman among others.

Jackie Gorman’s work has been widely published in journals such as Poetry Ireland Review, The Honest Ulsterman, The Lonely Crowd and others. Her debut collection The Wounded Stork was published in 2019 by the Onslaught Press, UK and described by Dr Martin Dyar in Poetry Ireland Review as an engrossing and ecologically attuned debut. She has a Masters in Poetry Studies from DCU and was the recipient in 2024 of the John Broderick Emerging Writers Bursary.

All are welcome to attend. Registration with the library.

Now in its 12th year, Poetry Day Ireland continues to inspire and connect people through poetry. This year there are over fifty events taking place around the country to celebrate Poetry Day. The full programme and details on events in your area are available on poetryday.ie.

Sean Borodale, Poet in Residence of Poetry Ireland/Éigse Éireann says: “I can’t wait to experience the outpouring of poetry from across the island this Poetry Day Ireland. We encourage everyone to welcome poetry into their lives today by attending a poetry event, visiting your local library, sharing a poem on social media, or simply sending a poem to a friend. Poetry should always have a place in our homes and our lives, but Poetry Day offers a special opportunity to pause, reflect, and make space for poetry.”

More details about Poetry Day Ireland can be found on www.poetryireland.ie