Chris Murray

“Forms ; A Sampler” by Chris Allen

March 9th, 2009

Forms; A Sampler

for C.M

What would they have said
had you heard the whisper

slip ravenous up the avenue
on fat and awkward dialect

towards the parlour comfort
of an army of the wizened

faces of their mother, who
settled in her embroideries

internalising the potential
of an inclusive act, to fuse

the eschatological omission,
confined in insurrection

to the vortices of daylight,
silently, symbolically laced?

Forms; A Sampler is © Chris Allen

Eurydice Series by Anastasia Kashian.

With thanks to Anastasia Kashian for the artwork, from her Eurydice Series. Anastasia’s portfolio is linked at Saatchi online and on her website.
Greetings from International PEN Women Writers!

March 8th, 2009

International PEN Women Writer's Committee : Women's day 2009

:IPWWC Greetings.
‘Necessity’ by Simone Weil

March 8th, 2009

Necessity

The cycle of days in the deserted sky turning
In silence watched by mortal eyes.
Gaping mouth here below, where each hour is burning
So many cruel and beseeching cries;

All the stars slow in the steps of their dance,
The only fixed dance, mute brilliance on high,
In spite of us formless, nameless without cadence.
Too perfect, no fault to belie;

Toward them , suspended , our anger is vain.
Quench our thirst, if you must break our hearts.
Clamouring and desiring, their circle draws us in their train;
Our brilliant masters were forever victors.

Tear flesh apart, chains of pure clarity.
Nailed without a cry to the fixed point of the North,
Naked soul exposed to all injury,
May be obey you unto death.

Notebooks (OC 6:2:147-148)

Poetry and Poetics, Simone Weil : Thinking Poetically. Joan Dargan, State University of New York Press. 1999.
A Saturday Woman Poet , Máire Nic Mhaoláin.

March 7th, 2009

Caoineadh, Le Máire Nic Mhaoláin

Ní ceist orm gur éagais
Ach gur céasadh dom
Cumhracht mormónta
Féileacán bán ar phraiseach
Féileacán breac ar marigolds
Agus do lamha a bheith fuar.

‘Gus Haiku

sean-neadacha
i ngéaga ardchrainn giúise-
lámh fhuar um an tua.

as Haikúnna, le Máire Nic Mhaoláin, ‘gus Caoineadh, le Nic Mhaoláin :
Fíliocht Uladh 1960-1985, Gréagóir ó Dúill, a chuir in eagar. Coiscéim 1986

Kells letter
Forge at Gort: Press Release (2009)

March 6th, 2009

Despite the withdrawal of funds by the Irish Arts Council from two major collaborative Writer’s Centres, this year’s Forge At Gort will proceed, and as I am lazy this is a C+P of the Release (complete with appalling line breaks ) by Johnson (founder of the Cúirt International literary festival and all round , a good guy, despite many differences of opinion betwixt us).

FORGE AT GORT LITERATURE FESTIVAL RARIN’ TO GO, MARCH 27TH AND 28TH – IMMEDIATE
“Western Writers’ Centre” wrote:

SECOND ‘FORGE AT GORT’ LITERARY FESTIVAL GEARS UP FOR
MARCH 27TH AND 28TH

The literary town of Gort, Co. Galway, will see its second ‘Forge at Gort’ literature festival kick off on Friday, March 27th, at Sullivan’s Royal Hotel, Gort, with a reading by renowned writer, critic and poet, Ulick O’Connor. A host of novelists, poets and musicians are due for this year’s festival, which is organised by the Western Writers’ Centre, Ionad Scríbhneoiri Chaitlín Maude, Galway.

Novelist Adrian White will read from his work at The Gallery Café, Gort, on Friday, March 27th, at 9.30pm. The Arts Council removed all programme funding from the Centre – in spite of the Centre receiving a major Irish-language project award, at the end of last year. Internationally-acclaimed harpist and chair of the Irish Historical Harp Society, Siobhán Armstrong, will perform in Gort Library to the poetry of Clare Sawtell, on Saturday evening at 9. 30pm. “The inexplicable loss of funding stirred up a great spirit among writers,” said writer and critic Fred Johnston, the Centre’s manager.

“We have them to thank for the festival, and our sponsors, who did not hesitate. We have a special word of thanks to writer and journalist Martina Devlin, who provided some valuable suggestions.We still have room for sponsorship, so anyone who is interested can contact us. But we are immensely grateful for the support of Poetry Ireland, for instance, who unhesitatingly stepped forward.”

Fred Johnston, who founded Galway’s Cúirt festival in 1986 as a poetry festival, has made sure that events reach out around as much of Gort as possible. From Sullivan’s Royal Hotel, events will also take place in The Alcazar restaurant, The Gallery Café, Gort Library, and O’Grady’s Bar.

“We are delighted to have writers of such calibre, and musicians such as Siobhán to come and play for us. It is terrific support. And our special thanks to Gort Library.”Administrator Marvelle Maguire, Company Secretary Sylvia Crawford, chairperson Aoife Nic Fhearghusa and others have been working tirelessly over the past few months to put the festival together. Johnston and other Board members were also unanimous in praising the openness and enthusiasm of people in Gort towards the festival.

Among the events taking place, which will also feature novelist Adrian White,are Original Writing Ltd discussing self-publishing on Saturday at 11am in Sullivan’s Royal Hotel,a children’s reading by Gabriel Fitzmaurice at Gort Library on Saturday, March 28th at 12 noon; poet and playwrights Patricia Burke Brogan and Dubliner Gerry McDonnell at noon on Saturday also at the Alcazar Pizza Restaurant; novelist Juliet Bresson, Sullivan’s Royal Hotel, Saturday, at 1.15pm; archaeologist Michael Gibbons will give a talk at Gort Library at 3pm; poet Tim Cunningham and the Limerick White House poets, O’Grady’s Bar, Saturday, at 4. 30pm; a discussion by the editors of Albedo 1, Ireland’s only alternative fiction magazine, at 6pm in Sullivan’s Royal Hotel, also on Saturday; Cork poet Gerry Murphy at 7. 30pm at Sullivan’s Royal Hotel, also on Saturday; and John Arden and Margaretta D’Arcy will read and perform at The Gallery Café bringing everything to a close on Saturday evning at 11pm. Further details of the festival can be obtained by mailing westernwriters@eircom.net or checking the website at http://www.twwc.ie or ‘phoning 087.2178138.

Sponsors to date include Ennis’ ‘Scéal Eile’ bookshop, Poetry Ireland, Sullivan’s Royal Hotel, O’Grady’s,

The Gallery Café and Supervalu, Gort. All events will be free, though donations will be accepted.

Fred Johnston (Manager)

Martin Cullen TD has cut funding to two writers’ centrea , PoliticsIE
‘Hands Across the Border’ , a quilt exhibition at the NBG.

March 1st, 2009
Beautiful exhibition of Quilting in the National Botanic Gardens, Dublin today and running until March the 15th : Hands Across the Border, the image I would have selected is not available at the Irish Patchwork Society Webpage, but I am including a link to both the Society and to the National Botanic Gardens at end of this post.

The Northern Irish Patchwork Guild and The Irish patchwork Society are a friendly crew who like small kids and were able to tell the stories of whichever quilt was asked about. The work varied from the hand-dyed artistic to the tale of a life in quilt and embroidery, with a stunning example telling of the Shackleton Antarctic Expedition. There was a small patchwork christening robe adorned with the names of babies in gold simple lettering, by Breege Watson and Elizabeth Mc Cartney’s Hand Dyed Picnics in Ravensdale Woods.

Best of all was the raffle for a hamper of Patchwork doings, and the visitor’s book adorned with the scrawls of kids and the very intelligent writing of grown-ups. Sadly we did not win that. The Herbarium space in the rejuvenated National Botanic Gardens is a wonderful lit space for exhibitions. I am adding in here a short piece that I wrote on the NBG restoration project , entitled The Brightest Jewel , by E Charles Nelson and Dr Eileen Mc Cracken.
- The Making of An American Quilt, by Angela Carter (from Burning Your Boats)
- Irish Patchwork Society Irish patchwork Society
- The Brightest Jewel , the National Botanic Gardens
A Saturday Woman Poet Amy Lowell used the Pomegranate Embroidery as Illustration.
A Saturday Woman Poet , Ileana Mãlãncioiu

February 28th, 2009
Maybe It Isn’t Him.

“I found your body stilettoed from behind,
It would have been much harder otherwise
I pull the blade out terrified and wipe
Its gold handle on my breast and side

Lord, I cry, maybe it isn’t him,
Maybe it’s his earthen shape
Maybe the blood is not actual blood
Maybe his soul is singing across the plain.

Maybe the birds are listening to his song,
And that’s why over the plain they are all
Silent, maybe they too are made of clay
And their one use is magical.

Maybe it is death barely now arrived
That hunts the mystery of your sacred being
After whose form we were made,
Maybe the eternal bird is singing.”

From : After the Raising of Lazarus, Trans, Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin. South Woard 2005.
- Info on Charlotte Salomon.
Charlotte Salomon : ‘Boek’
International Women’s Day , I Shall be Adding to this Post.

February 27th, 2009
mainie Jellet Composition
Still Living …(name the Artist Pls, Ipsi)

February 26th, 2009
awaiting the name…,

O! and Pierre Joris hath switched to WordPress for Nomadics, one of my favourite sites on Literature/poetry and politics (added at the end)

I shall have an International Women’s Day List and Poem this weekend Women’s Day 8th March 2009.
- Pierre Joris *Homad*
RB Kitaj , excerpt from ‘The First Diasporist Manifesto.’

February 25th, 2009
“Symrna Greek (Nikos)” 1976-1977. RB Kitaj.

I have mentioned before the work of RB Kitaj both as a writer in his Manifesto and as an Artist whose work The Death of Rosa Luxemburg profoundly effected both my interest in Art and my political view. Indeed I had stated that I would excerpt a short piece on his Diasporist Manifesto some time ago.

[First Diasporist Manifesto, RB Kitaj: Thames And Hudson 1989]

The Almond Tree

“I always keep a picture, tacked to my wall, of the gorgeous little painting of the The Almond Tree which Bonnard was working at on his last day,to remind me of another fate, a more sublime and fixed one than that of Jews or that of my own particular Diasporism, where painting marks on canvas may spell peripatetic danger instead of peace in the sun.

In fact, I return this day to a tiny picture of a false messiah I thought I’d finished, taking up Bonnard’s little tree to infuse my messiah with hopeful white paint, befitting the End of Days, prolonging its poor prospects and smothering the negative constraints of Diaspora for a moment; these negative aspects by the way, which in traditional interpretations are due to be resolved in the messianic end of time. I just came across a Biblical Allusion to the flowering Almond interpreted as the white head of an old man….so my poor Messiah can be aged and maybe even something more false.”

Forms; A Sampler

Eurydice Series by Anastasia Kashian.

Necessity