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| Poets Patrick Stack and Kate O Shea |
I was sorry to miss this event featuring local poet Patrick Stack. Thanks to my guest blogger who captures the atmosphere in this report. I look forward to reading the poems in The Parting The Clare Three Legged Stool Poetry Group meet on the third Saturday afternoon of each month in Glor, Ennis.
Patrick Stack Book Launch April 20th, 2013
Glór Theatre 2 in Ennis was the scene of the
launch of “The Parting”, a collection of poetry by Patrick Stack, a Kerryman living in Kilmaley. This is
Stack’s, first collection and it
showcases poems written over the past 30 years. He is a member of the Clare Three-Legged Stool
Poets and many comrades- in- poetry were on hand to celebrate with him, among
them Brian Mooney, Paul Saalbach, Kate O’Shea, Mike Douse and Martin Vernon.
A nice buzz prevailed as people gathered in
the foyer of Glór at three o’clock and Patrick was kept busy signing copies of
his book. Wife Anna Marques Stack, daughter Deirdre and son Naoise greeted the
crowd. Everyone then moved into Theatre 2 to music provided by piper Andrew Newland with
Róisín on fiddle.
Keynote speaker for the launch was poet and
novelist Fred Johnston, director of the Western Writers’ Centre in Galway. He
spoke of the “violence of silence” in our time, where no one is willing to
speak out, to tackle political issues, because of the “innate Irish terror of
authority”. However, “there is nothing silent about Patrick Stack”, according
to Johnston, “He is dangerous in our time”. Stack’s poetry speaks its mind and
invites reaction. He rails against censorship and economic misery, and “a whole
world that refuses to say anything”.
Patrick then read a number of poems from
his collection, giving their background stories. A talented linguist, his
poetry features English, Irish, Portuguese and Krio Rap from Sierra Leone. The
subject matter of his poems ranges from life in his childhood home in Kerry to
the Lisbon Underground to a “non-experience” in a bar in Majorca and beyond. This
collection provides the reader with a pot pourri of varied experiences, couched
in rich language and vivid imagery - plenty of food for thought provoked by
this newly published poet.
“The Parting” is published by AmethystDragon Archives and retails at 10 euro.
Written by guest blogger Cinnamon.
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