'Writing It Slant' poetry evening
Thursday May 28 is Poetry Day in Ireland and Athlone will be marking it with a poetry reading in Athlone Library with local poets Tadhg Carey (editor of Westmeath Examiner sister paper, the Westmeath Independent) and Jackie Gorman.
The event takes place at 6pm and will include tea and coffee and refreshments, and all are welcome; you are invited to 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 to always tell the truth but from an angle so as not to overwhelm those who might hear it.
The event in Athlone will include two short readings from Tadhg and Jackie, both of whom are well known poets from Athlone.
Poetry Day Ireland is an annual island-wide celebration of poetry. This year the theme is ‘Home’.
Tadhg Carey is a Westmeath Artist Bursary Award recipient and a Freedom to Write Project awardee.
He was selected to read at the Cúirt International Festival New Writing Showcase, and 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.
Jackie has a Masters in Poetry Studies from DCU and was the recipient in 2024 of the John Broderick Emerging Writers Bursary.
The event promises to be an interesting and engaging event of poetry from two accomplished writers and all are welcome to attend.
More details about Poetry Day Ireland can be found on poetryireland.ie.