Windows Publications Authors & Artists 9

I got the new Windows Publication on Thursday evening and took time to read it over the last few days. It's an impressive publication with a great variety of styles and themes. The inclusion of artwork makes it special. The art was on display at the Cavan launch and the interesting thing is that some pieces look better on canvas and others look better as illustrations in the book. Right the cover image Aperture of Longing by Anne Harkin-Peterson.

There's a mother and daughter in the book, artist Elena Duff and her mother Honor Duff who is a LitLab members. Of the thirty included in the book about half are members of the Cavan/Meath Arts Offices LitLab initiative. That means that I have already seen, heard and even criticised some of the prose and poems at LitLab meetings. Here and there while reading I think "Oh he/she didn't take what I said on board" or "I knew that poem would be better without the original first verse".

One of my poems included, Fuerteventura 2008, originally had at least twice as many lines - it now has eleven. LitLab members liked it but were strongly of the opinion that various lines were superfluous. I gave in to most of them but the last three lines were untouchable:

and pork sausages, blood puddings, bacon rashers, pounds and stones and hundredweights and tons, fat imperial measures.

(Should have omitted that comma after tons though!)

I'd better mention the contribution by fellow Trim writer Paddy Smith, prose of course but his second piece, Left, Right could certainly pass as poetry with some creative formatting. His last paragraph is:
Too much, too soon. Another five years of starting in the middle. And then, then he might just think about that right sock.

Others included in the book are Michael Massey from Kilkenny, Nollaig Rowan, Dublin, published in the latest Boyne Berries and David Rowell, Dublin, who won this year's Swift Satire competition.

The remaining three launches for the publication are as follows:
Set Theatre (Langton’s) John St., Kilkenny Monday 5th October at 8pm.
Irish Writer’s Centre Parnell Sq., Dublin Wednesday 7th October at 8pm.
Castle Arch Hotel, Summerhill Rd, Trim Thursday 8th October at 8pm. Readers there will include Patrick Devaney, Paddy Halligan, Paddy Smith, Mairéad Donnellan, Michael Farry, Lisa McKenna.