Anti-poetry is now culture in Ireland’s market-driven media.
  
The issues of the day provide fodder for the chattering classes in much the same manner as fast-food fills an endless hole and thereby generates obesity. Fiction and gossip are the disposable trans-fat of the entertainment world. But like trans-fats they glut, and end up distorting the shape of the body, in this instance the body of Irish literature. The shape of literature in Ireland is becoming simplistic and disposable and indistinguishable indeed from Hello Magazine! It has morphed into fiction and chick-lit comestibles, the easy hitters.
Contemporary Irish Arts : anyone can get an artist exemption
 I suppose that someone has to pimp poetry and to blog about what goes on at the nether end of the literary spectrum, whilst awaiting for decent reviews and discussion on arts , as opposed to fashionable edutainment. Literally anyone can apply for and get tax exemptions for their artwork, go on and apply.
Poetry Ireland deleted the PI Forum from their servers in 2013
 Since I started blogging about poetry in 2008, I have noted more international poetry editors opening out magazines and writing spaces to the committed poet. Although in Ireland, Poetry Ireland has been busily closing down their 2000-2013 poetry forum which housed an area for peer-review of original work. Poetry Ireland announced this in short-form and then proceeded to delete a lot of original work from their servers. I await with bated breath their new web-development ideas.
In the meantime, I suppose that Irish poets can use groups on Facebook or Linkedin and consign their copyrights to Mark Zuckerberg who may be more sensitive to the provision of working spaces than PI. The Irish editor appears to be less generous about creating accessible archives and working-spaces to the emergent writer than his international counterparts.
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 Revival Literary Journal ceased operation this year of 2013, as did Doghouse Books in Kerry. Books Ireland was recently threatened with closure after the Irish Arts Council pulled their grant. Books Ireland has a new publisher, but these issues go largely undiscussed as really there is no place where poetry is discussed in Ireland. Just as we, a poetic nation (apparently), have no Poetry Foundation. Our colleges do not adequately index our poetry history, or provide accessible archives to the reading public.
Poetry in Ireland is paltry feast left to the wit and wisdom of individual publishers and bloggers who must construct a cloak of holes and moths to illuminate Irish poetic work. There is no provision made or the poetry reader that is centred in a semblance of respect for poetic form, or for its growing variety.
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Chris Murray 
2 responses to “Small Press Poetry and Indies”
Hey guys great page. Loads of info on all things poetic!!
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thanks 🙂
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