Midland Arts and Culture Magazine - Register.ie

There’ssomethingabout MaryBy Majella ReidHearts and minds throughout themidlands have long been inspired bythe creative words of Longford poet,Mary Melvin Geoghegan. With threecollections to her name and a fourthto be published later this year, MsMelvin Geoghegan is one ofLongford’s most prolific and highlyregarded literary figures.Award-winning poet Nuala NíChonchúir, is one of her manyadmirers. She has stated: “MelvinGeoghegan has an original use oflanguage – she is gifted with imagery –and a unique approach to each of hersubjects...Here is a poet who canmagnify the smallest detail until itbecomes as important to the reader asit is to her.”In the early 1990s, Mary joined theLongford Writers’ Group and it wasthere that her poetic spark was ignited.Such was the Dublin-born writer’spoetic evolution that within a few yearsshe was delivering poetry workshops atschools throughout county Longford.The Writers in Schools Scheme withPoetry Ireland and Free the Butterflyare just two programmes throughwhich Longford children were poeticallynurtured.Her success at delivering theseworkshops meant that in 2003 shecould compile a collection of poetryfrom Longford children entitled RideAlong Dear Grandma.In 2008, she was invited to take up aresidency at Stonepark NationalSchool (NS). “Every child in the schoolwrote a poem. It was funded by PoetryIreland and it (the resulting publishedwork) was called A Hand in the Future,”said Mary, who is quick toacknowledge the support ofStonepark’s Eamon Brennan andBelinda McKeon.Today Mary’s work with childrencontinues. As Regional Editor ofEurochild, she compiles a variety ofI clean out the wardrobe.Anything that’s five years or morenot worn goes into the spare room.But, not my father’s shirt or jacket.I search the pocketsfor anything I’d missed andin a corner an old plastic crucifixsevered from its beads.On Good Friday by Mary MelvinGeoghegan. This is one of over 60 poemsthat will feature in her latest collection ofpoems, Say it like a paragraph. Thecollection will be published by BradshawBooks, Tigh Filí, Cork, in autumn 2012.poems from across the region for theproject. Now in its tenth year, Eurochildis a project which gives children a voice.“It might be the first opportunity thatthey are asked to write something outof the ordinary confines of the schoolday,” said Mary. “Poetry helps peopleto connect back into themselves.”Mary’s work has been widely publishedin publications such as Crannóg(2011), Revival (2011), The Shop, TheStony Thursday Book (2011) and TheMoth (2012). In looking at her owninfluences, she tells me that sheadmires the work of poets such asNuala Ní Chonchúr and Vona Groake.In her fourth collection Say it like aParagraph, Mary looks at a new phasein her life, one which began with thepassing of her father, Alfred Melvin.“I write whatever inspires me.I’m inspired by photographs innewspapers, anything that interestsme really.” She was encouraged topublish this collection of poemsfollowing a workshop with Americanpoet, June HerstfieldShe added: “Temperamentally I’msuited to poetry. I think in lines. I feelso fortunate...Poetry is like theexpletive of the heart or the momentcaptured,” she said.But, despite all her success Mary has apractical view on life. “You are only asgood as the next piece you write. It’snever a given that it’s going to bethere,” she said.Mary lives in Abbeycartron, Longford.Her two children, Peter and Robbie,work in the United Kingdom. Peterwrites as a journalist for a number ofpublications including The Guardian,Sunday Business Post, Irish Times,Examiner and the Irish Independent.Robbie is an English teacher inGlasgow. MSalty Dogand theElectricPicnic“In the murky shadows of the woods inStradbally, an old friend peels a fewleaves off his forehead and flicks acaterpillar from behind his ear, andrecalls some distant promise to tryharder... its the captain of the SaltyDog, stumbling into the lengtheningSummer days with his flies undone andwondering how the winter was soeffortlessly squandered“, reads theofficial announcement for The SaltyDog Stage 2012…The Salty Dog Stage has something of areputation at the Electric Picnic—permanently dwelling on the naughtystep of the full scale music festival upthe road in Stradbally Hall in September.And rightly so, for it is a renegade 40-tonne French trawler, a shipwreck to youand I, which ‘fell off the back of a lorry’ inthe woods in 2008 and declared itselfopen for business. It has become a welllikedstage at Electric Picnic, with over 30bands performing on her decks over thethree days, and countless revelersfinding a second home under her nonjudgmentalbows.Operated by Stradbally resident HugoJellett, who also runs Carlow Arts Festival(Eigse) and Charles Preston, ‘the besttent guy in the business’, the Salty Dog isone of the few stages which devotesitself almost entirely to Irish acts—although Seasick Steve and EdwardSharpe & the Magnetic Zeros have bothperformed recentlyPolar Ice, a dry ice company fromPortarlington put on a foggy spectacularfor the three days, and it runs until thesunlight cracks thought the early morningmist each morning and the last fewrevelers fall to their knees in exhaustion.Jellett and Preston set about rounding upthe fringes of society and giving themstage to play on. “Sea shanties from pubtannedcodgers, bluegrass at the whimof corn-nibblers down from the hills,blues solos from tinny-swilling doublebassists with bockety eyes, and theoccasional cracking set from a confusedrock-star kidnapped from the main stageand spirited into the forest” as they put it.Somehow it’s fitting that in all thehullabaloo off giant Main Stages andinternational headline acts, thehumblest, wittiest and best loved stageof them all is a permanent Stradballyresident. MFESTIVAL REPUBLIC & PODpresentsELECTRIC PICNICMUSIC & ARTSFESTIVALSTRADBALLY HALL, CO. LAOISFriday, August, 31,Saturday, September 1,Sunday, September 2, 2012TICKETS ON SALE NOW!Over the last eight years Electric Picnic hasestablished itself as a melting pot of finemusic, art, comedy, spoken word and so muchmore. This year won’t be any different...anotherinfusion of colour, vibrancy, sparkle andmischief is on the way as we commence ourcountdown to Electric Picnic 2012 by revealingthe first acts who will be bestowing thesoundtrack in Stradbally over three days at theend of the summer.THE CURE; THE KILLERS; ELBOW; SIGURRÓS; ORBITAL; HOT CHIP; THE XX ;GRIZZLY BEAR; CHRISTY MOORE; THEROOTS; GLEN HANSARD; METRONOMY;THE HORRORS; AZEALIA BANKS; ROOTSMANUVA; BAT FOR LASHES;TINDERSTICKS; BELL X1; STAFF BENDABILILI; MILAGRES; ED SHEERAN;ALABAMA SHAKES; CRANES; LITTLEROY; LAND LOVERS; BAXTER DURY;JONATHAN WILSON; SOLAR BEARS;FATOUMATA DIAWARA; WILLIS EARLBEAL; LANTERNS ON THE LAKETHE CURE will play a two hours plus setof songs drawn from all 14 of their studioalbums - including tracks from their epicWish album, celebrating it’s 20thanniversary in 2012. This will be THECURE’s first ever appearance at ElectricPicnic and is definitely not to be missed.Electric Picnic goers will revel in thepowerful anthems of ELBOW this year asthey head to Stradbally. They haverecently been given the honour of writingthe BBC’s Olympic theme. Throw thosecurtains wide, Elbow have arrived!Other areas to be explored include BODYAND SOUL, MINDFIELD, COMEDY TENT,THEATRE OF FOOD, GLOBAL GREEN,SOUL KIDS and much more……….“I’m really looking forward to this year’sfestival, particularly having The Cure onthe lineup, a band we’ve been trying toget on the bill for 7 years.” JohnReynolds, PODFurther information about tickets isavailable at www.electricpicnic.iePaper Girls at ElectricPicnic Launch15