THE WATCHFUL HEART

Today is publication day for The Watchful Heart - A New Generation of Irish Poets - Poems and Essays, edited and presented by Joan McBreen.

I have an essay called 'The Art of the Body: Poem as Female Self-portrait' in the book, along with three new poems.

It costs €18 from Salmon Poetry and can be bought here.

The Watchful Heart – A New Generation of Irish Poets – Poems and Essays is an anthology of the work of twenty-four Irish poets born in the last fifty years. It contains biographical and bibliographical details of each contributor, together with photographs. All poets included have published at least two collections of poetry. Poetry in Irish with translations is also included. None of the poetry in this anthology has previously been published in collection form and most of the essays are published here for the first time. McBreen’s anthology The White Page/ An Bhileog Bhán: Twentieth-Century Irish Women Poets (Salmon Poetry, 1999) is now in its third reprint.

Patricia Coughlan of the School of English, University College, Cork has this to say about the book: “Well-planned and carefully assembled, The Watchful Heart adds to the pleasures of all good collections a distinctive bonus: as readers we get to hear each poet’s voice in, so to speak, two mediums: poetry and reflective prose. It gives a fascinating cross-section of Irish poetry at the present time.”

Joan McBreen has already enjoyed great success with her anthology The White Page / An Bhileog Bhán – Twentieth-Century Irish Women Poets (Salmon, 1999); it's in its third reprint. Joan is an excellent editor - really thorough and lovely to deal with. She's originally from Sligo and divides her time between Tuam and Renvyle, County Galway. Her poetry collections are: The Wind Beyond the Wall (Story Line Press, 1990), A Walled Garden in Moylough (Story Line Press and Salmon Poetry, 1995), Winter in the Eye – New and Selected Poems (Salmon Poetry, 2003) and Heather Island (Salmon Poetry, 2009).

I can't wait to see the book and read the rest of the essays and poems. I'm sure it will be available to buy at Charlie's bookshop at Cúirt, where I set of to tomorrow.

GALWAY LAUNCH - MAY 1ST KENNY'S - 6pm

DUBLIN LAUNCH - MAY 21ST - UNITARIAN CHURCH - 6pm

LISTOWEL LAUNCH - MAY 30TH

YEATS SUMMER SCHOOL LAUNCH - JULY 30TH - GLASSHOUSE HOTEL - 6pm