Today in our poetry news round up, we look at a singers poetry reading, a celebration of the 200th birthday anniversary of William Allingham and the Chinese poet celebrated in a musical.
Joen Baez Visits Dublin for Poetry Reading
The singer and human right campaigner, Joan Baez, is to visit the home of the late poet Seamus Heaney for a poetry reading. She will also be attending a screening of a documentary that has been made about her like titled “I Am A Noise”.
The trip will be taking place in December and Baez, who is 83, will take part in a reading of poems from her most recent book of poetry “When You See My Mother, Ask Her to Dance”. The event is scheduled to take place at Seamus Heaney HomePlace.
The announcement about the visit was made by Art for Human Rights, and the screening is scheduled to take place on International Human Rights Day, 10th December. This will be followed by a discussion which Baez will take part in alongside the directors of the documentary.
Joan Baez has been an important voice for civil and human rights struggles across the globe for the last 60 years
“When You See My Mother, Ask Her To Dance” is a collection of poetry that is described as an autobiographical, intimate book of poetry from the singer who has been penning poems for many years.
William Allingham Celebrated on 200th Birthday Anniversary
As part of Heritage Week, an event took place on Sunday to celebrate the life of the poet William Allingham. The event coincided with the 200th anniversary of the birth of the poet who was local to the area of Ballyshannon.
The event, which was hosted by a local historian and a group of actors, took place in the Abbey Arts Centre and St. Anne’s Church and showed that that there is an increasing desire in the area to engage with local history, music, drama and poetry.
As part of the event, the Green Buaile Bawns, a local song that was popular when the poet was alive, was performed for the first time in over 100 years.
Musical Tribute to Poet Premiers
The premiere of the Chinese musical “Su Dongpo” has taken place at the Poly Theatre in Beijing. The 2 day show told stories of the Song Dynasty poet and highlighted the experience that took place when he was banished to another province with his family where they were forced to make a living through farming.
The poet’s optimism for life and continued love of literature can be seen in the poems that he continued to write during this time.
The musical features 25 songs and also uses a number of poems and paintings attributed to Su.
This is not the first time that the theatre has looked at Chinese history and Su’s life story; its previous production was a contemporary dance one titled “Dongpo: Life in Poems” . The new production will now be going on tour.
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