WELCOME to Poetry Matters, the blog of Ireland’s Dedalus Press, bringing you news, interviews, samples and much more.
For those who may be interested, the following is the full text of our February 2019 response to the Irish Times’ invitation to comment on the MEAS report into Gender in Poetry Publishing in Ireland: 2008–2017. We appreciate that the
The late Macdara Woods recalls the genesis of his poem Fire And Snow And Carnevale, perhaps best known in its musical setting by Anúna, part of the original Riverdance project Steering clear of mystique and mystification I would have
US-based Irish poet Mary O’Donoghue on the background to her villanelle, My Daughter in Winter Costume, included in the 2017 Dedalus Press anthology The Deep Heart’s Core (eds. Pat Boran & Eugene O’Connell) I saw the sculpture ‘My Daughter
Enda Coyle-Greene sketches the background to her poem ‘Metathesis’, included in the anthology The Deep Heart’s Core: Irish Poets Revisit a Touchstone Poem (Dedalus Press, 2017) ‘Metathesis’ began with a word I either didn’t know or had forgotten. Words are
Patrick Kehoe, poet and arts journalist, answers 7 Questions on Poetry. His most recent collections of poems are Places to Sleep (Salmon Poetry, 2018) and The Cask of Moonlight (Dedalus Press, 2014). Do you remember How, or When, or even
In this short essay, reproduced from The Deep Heart’s Core, poet JOHN O’DONNELL revisits his poem ‘The Shipping Forecast’, among those included in Sunlight: New and Selected Poems (May 2018). LIKE PROSPECTORS, poets are always anxious to know if what
JOSEPH WOODS on the story behind the cover of his new book of poems, Monsoon Diary For me, there’s a certain serendipity to the book cover of Monsoon Diary. Last December Pat Boran was in touch about the book and
Elaine Cosgrove, author of the much-admired debut Transmissions (Dedalus Press, 2017) takes part in our occasional series and answers 7 Questions on Poetry *** Do you remember the first poem you wrote or what prompted it? The first poem I
AT DEDALUS PRESS, as well as publishing books by some of the best known names in Irish poetry, we’ve long dedicated ourselves to working with the rising generation of writers, many of whom are equally as comfortable on the stage
Catherine Ann Cullen on the songscape of a Dublin childhood This post takes its title from “Family Crest”, a tongue-in-cheek poem in my collection The Other Now (Dedalus, 2016) that uses as a central motif the coat of arms of
Paddy Bushe in email conversation with Pat Boran about his latest collection of poems, On a Turning Wing, winner of the 2017 Irish Times Poetry Now Award How important is place to your writing life, both in terms of subject
In our new anthology, The Deep Heart’s Core: Irish Poets Revisit a Touchstone Poem, some 100 poets accept the invitation to revisit a favourite, key or touchstone poem of their own, and offer a short commentary on same — as
Join the Dedalus Press Mailing List to avail of special offers and keep up with news of new publications. Our programme for 2017 features an exciting range of new books by both well-known and up-and-coming writers, as well as one
Keith Payne’s letter from Galicia, first published in The Level Crossing, introduces two of the new wave of Galician poets. World is crazier and more of it than we think, Incorrigibly plural … IT WAS AS IF MacNeice had predicted
To coincide with the launch of her new collection of poems, Geomantic, we link here to a recording of a wide-ranging conversation between the poet and UCD Adjunct Professor Jody Allen Randolph, in an event that took place at The
Congratulations to Doireann Ní Ghríofa who, on 02 Sept, in its 40th anniversary year, received the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature for her poetry. Dedalus Press is proud to have published Doireann’s English-language debut, Clasp, described as follows by Nyla
Leland Bardwell (1922 – 2016) “For such a big personality, her carbon footprint was small. Her radio played Lyric FM, quietly. And for years and years she drove an ancient Triumph Herald, the back seat of which was composed almost
We’re finally there with issue 1 of THE LEVEL CROSSING (see HERE). THE LEVEL CROSSING is the new occasional journal of poetry and poetry-related prose from Dedalus Press. This first issue includes new work by poets from Ireland, the UK,
In the Afterword to Waveforms, his recent collection of haiku and photographs, Pat Boran considers the attractions of keeping it small. Low-res PDF of essay and sample poems from the book, as featured in issue 1 of The Level Crossing.
Jessica Traynor reads the title poem from her 2014 Dedalus Press debut collection, Liffey Swim, in the UCD Library Special Collections Reading Room. The poem also features in the 2014 Dedalus anthology, If Ever You Go: A Map of Dublin in
