Handbags at the Unitarian Church

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Saturday April 05, 2008 11:20

by C Murray

Multi-lingual Celebration of Women's Writing.

On the evening of the second of April there was a celebration of International
Women's Day at the Unitarian Church at St Stephen's Green. Bertie had Just
quit and as Jennifer Johnson noted there were a lot of 'drums', those of FF
beating a retreat and of FG beating a tattoo. Medbh Mc Guckian referred to the fact
that in Northern Ireland women can now buy 6,000 Euro handbags, but quality
of life had not improved at all for many. But is was not all politics, it was about
poetry and song.

http://www.indymedia.ie/article/86960

Mother Egg By Leonard Baskin

The evening was divided into paired readings, each pair was interspersed with two
songs by Sean Nos Singers ; the Elsafty sisters. The sisters did a wide range of songs,
best of which was 'Phota Mhor Pratai'.

Eilean Ni Chuilleanin read six poems and translated for Julia Peria, who being from Madrid
and studying in Harvard, had attended just after illness and her poems were stunning.
Julia Piera's New Publication is entitled 'Conversaciones con Mary Shelly'.
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Piera_Abad

Ileana Malaciouiu was translated by the artistic director of poetry Ireland, she is Romanian.
Her themes included Antigone, Lazarus and reclaiming relationship after death. She
has published a beautiful and poignant little poem about the death of her sister
called 'My Sister as Empress' which tells of the girl taking her crowns and going off
in a huff in her slippers. it has resonances of Yeats' 'The Stolen Child'.
http://www.poetryireland.ie/forum/showthread.php?t=645

Jennifer Johnson read excerpts from her Novels and mentioned a poem by
Francis Ledwidge, as well as her beautifully turned remarks on the current political
and cultural situation in Ireland... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Johnson

Leland Bardwell: http://www.rambles.net/bardwell_noise06.html
this is a review of her latest book 'The Noise of Masonry Settling'

The Unitarian Church has been recently cleaned up and restored and provides
a venue for musical /poetic gatherings, being very close to the Proud's Lane HQ of Poetry Ireland.
I do not think that this event was covered by the Mainstream media, which is always
a pity. it's very important to bring new readers to poetry; and women seem generally
under-represented in press. http://www.indymedia.ie/article/86703
http://www.poetryireland.ie/forum/showthread.php?t=467

Leonard Baskin's Image was culled from a programme of Women and Sibyls,
like RB Kitaj, his artistic life was dedicated to understanding his Judaism in the
context of the Holocaust and in his diaspora. His art has illustrated many Poets
works including the poems of Ted Hughes and the famous lithograph of
'The Hanged Man'.

Most of the small press and independent publishers have web sites and fora
for discussing poetry and related issues such as education, translation, freedom
of expression and legislations effecting artists.