April Meeting of the Meath Writer's Circle

Thursday April 7th is the date for the next meeting of the Meath Writer's Circle in the Trim Castle Hotel at 7.30pm.
This notice has already been placed in the Meath Chronicle.

Book Sales

Book Sales

Figures just released by publishers ‘The History Press’ show that 575 copies of ‘Images of Meath were sold for the six months ending in September 2010. This figure does not include copies sold locally in County Meath.

In addition 298 copies of ‘With the Boyne through Trim’ were sold in local outlets during the same period. 159 copies of ‘Counting Stained Glass Windows’

Both ‘Images of Meath’ and ‘Counting Stained Glass Windows’ are currently available on Amazon, W H Smith and Kenny’s Bookshop Galway.

Used copies of these publications are also available on eBay.

Figures for ‘Voices of Trim' during the same period are 7 and ‘Meath Voices’ 15

Strokestown International Poetry Competition 2011

The poets shortlisted for the Strokestown International Poetry Prizes 2011 are, in alphabetical order:
Mike Barlow, Lancashire, U.K; Matthew Barton, Avon U.K.; Jo Bell, Cheshire, U.K; Isobel Dixon, Cambridgeshire U.K; Susanne Ehrhardt, Oxfordshire, U.K; Ed Frankel, California U.S.A.; Tim O’Leary, London, U.K.; Jane Routh Lancashire, U.K.; Elisabeth Rowe, Devonshire, U.K.; Pat Winslow Oxfordshire, U.K.

No Irish Poet among the ten shortlisted poets for the top prize at Strokestown.

Probable cover for Haunted Meath

Old Church and Rookery at Tara

Welsh Poetry Competition 2011

Welsh Poetry Competition 2011

The 5th international Welsh Poetry Competition (2011) aims to encourage and reward the abundance of creative writing talent that exists in Wales but finds difficulty getting recognition. If you love writing, love poetry, are passionate and truly care about one of the greatest art forms in the world, the Welsh Poetry Competition want to hear from you!

They are independent and do not use filter judges. All entries are judged anonymously by the judge - Welsh novelist, poet and short fiction writer, and former winner of the competition Sally Spedding.

Prizes: 1st Prize - £300, 2nd Prize - £150 and 3rd Prize - £75.

To enter you need to compose a poem, in English, of less than 50 lines and send to the competition organizers. Entry forms are available by post, can be downloaded from the website or picked up from Wales’ libraries. It costs £3 to enter and the closing date is Sunday 29th May 2011.

Deceased

Published here is poem number four in a series of one hundred poems. Deceased received a Certificate of Merit in the 'Chapter and Verse' competition. It was also published in the Syllables Anthology.
The poem revolves around the word 'Again' which merits a line of its own and is pivotal, highlighting the fact that the gap that was there before birth is now there Again

Deceased

Rather, it is the thought that

You have ceased to exist that haunts me

Stalks my waking hours

Infiltrates my dreams

That you are not here nor there

Nor yonder

That you have diminished

Down the corridors of time

To become a gap in the crowd

Again

Inconspicuous

Even by your absence

The milky way at noon