We begin another week here on My Poetic Side with a look at the new poet in Residence for Poetry Ireland, the Ripon Festival and the death of Pete Brown.
New Poet in Residence Named for Poetry Ireland
Anne Tannam, the award-winning poet, has been named as the new poet in residence for Poetry Ireland. The post will be a two-year one, and will allow Poetry Ireland to create new relationships within the Northeast Inner City (which includes the campus of Dublin University) and a number of the cultural organisations that can be found in the areas referred to as “northside”.
This is a role that is funded by Dublin City University, The Arts Council of Ireland and the Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Fund of the Sidney E Frank Foundation.
Tannam is the author of three collections of poetry and has been facilitating, mentoring and coaching for the last 35 years. She said that an important part of her residency will be the delivery of the Neighbourhood Programme for Poetry Ireland. The project has been put together to connect individuals from across the city from all walks of life. Tannam is the second poet to take up the post, and she will be following Catherine Ann Cullen in the role.
Famous Poet and Author to Make Ripon Festival Return
Michael Rosen the internationally-famous writer of children’s books, who assisted in the 2017 launch of the Ripon Festival will be making a return at this year’s event.
Rosen who is well known for such works as “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt,” will be part of the packed programme that the festival has created for this year. The programme will also include Barrie Rutter the legendary director and actor who champions northern acting talent.
The festival will take place from 21st September to 1st October and is the largest festival of its kind in Yorkshire. There will also be performances from a number of local poets and workshops for both adults and children. There will be an open mic evening which will be organised by Ripon Writers Group and Write-on Ripon.
The heart of the festival will be a competition that will be open to poets of all ages, there are several different age categories, and all of the entries will be judged by an independent panel of judges. The winning poems will be published in an anthology that will cover all three of the age ranges.
Pete Brown Passes Away at 82
The British singer-songwriter Pete Brown who was a member of the band Cream has died following his fight with cancer. He was 82.
Whilst he is probably best known for his work co-writing some of Cream’s hits, he actually began his career in the field of the arts as a Beat Poet during the later part of the 1950s. By the time of the mid-1960’s he had taken part in Wholly Communion, a poetry event at The Royal Albert Hall alongside some of his American and British contemporaries including Michael Horowitz, Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Allen Ginsberg.
It was the work he did with the First Real Poetry Band that brought him to the attention of Ginger Baker the drummer with Cream which eventually led to a long career in the music industry.
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