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Kerry Hardie, with “Inishmaan” and other poems from, WHERE NOW BEGINS
Whether a reader concurs with Chaucer’s view of Aprille as inspirational or agrees with Eliot’s claim that it “is the cruelest month,” April is National Poetry Month in the USA and April 29, 2021, is National Poetry Day in Ireland. This week we introduce four poems by Kerry Hardie, from her latest collection, Where Now Begins. Kerry generously allowed us to use lines from this collection on our January 8th post, in the week of the attack on the United States Capitol, when we paused our usual program. We are very pleased to share the following poems, together with audio recordings by the poet, that speak eloquently of things and people observed, of…
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Eileen Acheson reads “I Wonder” and Other Poems
Whether a reader concurs with Chaucer’s view of Aprille as inspirational or agrees with Eliot’s claim that it “is the cruelest month,” April is National Poetry Month in the USA and April 29, 2021, is National Poetry Day in Ireland. So, we begin the month by introducing four poems by Eileen Acheson from her chapbook, I Wonder. In her lyrics, Acheson celebrates life: her personal experience embeds itself in Nature. She honors sod and rivers, branches and trees. Colors–purples, yellows, and brown–are her birthright. Her videos of the poems she reads for Trasna celebrate her world. In addition to writing, Acheson serves as Spoken Word curator for Clonmel Applefest and…
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Dairena Ní Chinnéide ~ “The Day the Blaskets were Nicked” and other poems
For the month of March we have been showcasing writers and writing who have engaged with the Irish language. On the final post for this month Trasna is pleased to share the work of poet, Dairena Ní Chinnéide, a bilingual poet from the West Kerry Gaeltacht of Corca Dhuibhne. Ní Chinnéide here shares poems in both their original Irish and in English translations, and as a special treat, two of her poems in audio read by herself and accompanied by renowned guitarist, Steve Cooney. The two audio tracks are from an album of her poetry set to music, which will be digitally released later this year. This is therefore a special pre-release of…
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Doireann Ní Ghríofa ~ “Under a Fridge Magnet is a Photo of Grandmother as a Schoolgirl”
Throughout the month of March, Trasna is featuring Irish language writers. This week, we are pleased to share the work of Doireann Ní Ghríofa. Included in this post is a video of her poem: “Under a Fridge Magnet is a Photo of Grandmother as a Schoolgirl.” The poem is read in Irish by the poet, and includes the English translation. Doireann Ní Ghríofa, an essayist as well as a poet, recently won the Irish Book of the Year 2020 for ‘A Ghost in the Throat’, her prose debut. Part essay, part memoir, ‘A Ghost in the Throat’ recounts Ní Ghríofa’s connection with the eighteenth-century poet Eibhlín Dubh Ní Chonaill, and her masterpiece, “Caoineadh…
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Aguisín, (“Afterword”) a Reading by Aifric Mac Aodha
Throughout the month of March, Trasna is featuring Irish language writers. This week, we are pleased to share the work of Aifric Mac Aodha, an accomplished Irish-language poet. We are also pleased to share the spoken word, two readings, each in Irish and English, by the poet. For many Americans, Aifric Mac Aodha’s reading may be your first encounter with this rich and ancient language. As evident from the translations of her poetry, there is beauty here, not just of language, but of images: “But don’t be so hard on my youth,/ that I loved fire and not the fireplace./ Time I started over and like Cúchulainn/ went to war…
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“Thirty-Two Words for Field: Lost Words of the Irish Landscape” by Manchán Magan
It is the oldest vernacular language in Europe; it is “unique,” “complex,” and “primal.” Those are some of the words author Manchán Magan uses to describe the Irish language. Throughout the month of March, Trasna is featuring Irish language writers. We begin with Manchán Magan and his recent 2020 publication, “Thirty-Two Words for Field: Lost words of the Irish landscape.” Trasna is pleased to share Chapter 1 of this important work, as well as an introduction to the Irish language by the author himself. Thirty-Two Words for Field: An Introduction for Trasna Readers by Manchán Magan As the oldest vernacular language in Europe, Irish is a unique and strange phenomenon. It…
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“AWAKE TO RACISM”
Joann Malone In recognition of Black History Month, this week Trasna features an excerpt from a new publication by Joann Malone, Awake to Racism. Malone, an Irish-American, shares her experiences as a Catholic nun in Alabama in the 1960s. There, while teaching, she begins a lifelong involvement in the Civil Rights movement. Beginning with the 1963 bombing of a church in Birmingham to the death of George Floyd, Malone urges readers to AWAKE to Racism, and to celebrate our greatest strength, diversity. (CO’C) “My White Privilege,” from AWAKE to Racism by Joann Malone “I’ve never liked being categorized as ‘white.’” What’s white? An absence of color, melanin, jazz, laughter, rhythm? I probably…
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“Ardmore,” and Other Poems
Frank Farrelly This week Trasna is pleased to feature Irish poet, Frank Farrelly, who is based in Waterford city. Frank’s poems here are from his first full collection, The Boiler Room, and reflect on childhood, place and a growing towards an understanding of the complexities of life and living. The poem, Against the Clock, brings us to our current situation, living through the COVID pandemic, and here Farrelly brings a mature understanding of the qualities that might help us to bear and to “cheat this crimping of our time”. Ardmore for my parents Uprooted once again, this time south, you leave your home, your friends, drive for hours through lonely hills, darkened towns, your…
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“Take Me out to the Ballgame,” and Other Poems
K.T. Slattery This week Trasna is pleased to feature the work of K.T. Slattery. A native of Tennessee, who now lives in the West of Ireland, Slattery is a familiar with Transatlantic crossings. “My biggest regret / Moving across the wide ocean- / I missed that glorious day / Red Sox World Champions!!!!” We commend Slattery not just for her image-rich poetry, but for her good taste in rooting for the Red Sox. This fall, Hedgehog Press is publishing her debut poetry collection which will include “Take Me out to the Ballgame. Take Me out to the Ballgame Scorecard balanced on knees Cross pencil in hand Me next to you With my own scorecard Looking over your…
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Atlantic Currents, Connecting Cork and Lowell Through Learning
Atlantic Currents is an anthology of sixty-five writers from Ireland and the United States. The book grew from the efforts of John Wooding, a former Provost at UMass, to have Lowell designated a UNESCO Learning City. Working with co-editors Paul Marion of Loom Press and Tina Neylon of the Cork Lifelong Learning Festival, this unique anthology seeks to enrich the the experience of readers by presenting a variety of writing from both sides of the Atlantic. Featured this week is an essay by Wooding on learning and the critical role it plays in our personal lives and in society. The book can be ordered at www.loompress.com Lowell: City of Learning? by…
