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Poetry SOS

Poetry Ireland

A one-to-one consultation with a poet

"rediscover the healing power of poetry"

Take a moment to rediscover the healing power of poetry with a one-to-one consultation with a poet, amid the tranquil surroundings of Carlow College’s Orchard.

In a bespoke ten-minute session, your poet-physician will prescribe a poem from Vital Signs, a new anthology of courageous responses to the human experience of illness and healing.

Our participating poets are Kerrie O Brien, Jane Clarke and Nithy Kasa.

Vital Signs, published by Poetry Ireland and edited by Martin Dyar, features a selection of poems by some of the most respected writers of our time, including Eavan Boland, Paula Meehan, and Paul Muldoon.

Advance booking is essential for this unique and intimate experience.

Jane Clarke

2 jane clarke web

Jane Clarke

Jane Clarke is the author of three poetry collections, The River, When the Tree Falls and the forthcoming A Change in the Air (Bloodaxe Books 2015 & 2019 & 2023).

Her awards include the 2022 Ireland Chair of Ireland Poetry Travel Awards, the 2016 Hennessy Literary Award for Poetry and the 2016 Listowel Writers’ Week Poem of the Year.

Jane grew up on a farm in Roscommon and now lives in the uplands of Co. Wicklow. www.janeclarkepoetry.ie

2 jane clarke web

Nithy Kasa

Nithy kasa

Nithy Kasa

Nithy Kasa has been making a mark in poetry since she was in secondary school in Galway, reaching the finals of Poetry Ireland’s Poetry Aloud competition multiple times. In 2010, she won the Cúirt International Festival of Literature poetry contest for schools.

Since moving to Dublin in 2011, her achievements include opening the Ó Bhéal series Make a Connection, for the European Year of Cultural Heritage (2018) and contributing to the anthology Writing Home: The New Irish Poets (Dedalus, 2019). In 2017, she gave talks at NUI Galway and the Royal Irish Academy as part of ‘Language and Migration in Ireland’. Nithy, who grew up in the Democratic Republic of Congo, discussed writing poetry in a language that isn’t a mother tongue.

Most recently, Nithy and her poem ‘Charcoal Iron’ featured in the Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation’s series of poetry-films, in association with Poetry Ireland. You can view Nithy’s video here.

Nithy kasa

Kerrie O'Brien

Kerrie obrien web

Kerrie O'Brien

Kerrie O'Brien is a poet from Dublin. Her debut collection of poetry, Illuminate, was published by Salmon Poetry in October 2016 and was made possible by a Literature Bursary from the Arts Council of Ireland.

Her poetry has featured in Cyphers, The Stinging Fly, The Irish Times, RTE Arena, Sunday Miscellany, The RTE Bookshow, The Irish Examiner and Southword and been read at literary festivals around the world.

Kerrie obrien web

In partnership with

Funded by the Arts Council | An Chomhaírle Ealaíon

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