Friday, July 13, 2007

Catherine Ann Cullen's 'A Bone in my Throat' launch



Senator David Norris





Well, another busy night mingling with the great and good of the Irish poetry world. This launch was introduced by Noel King the editor of Doghouse Books.Noel then made way for Senator David Norris to talk about Catherine Ann's book. His compliments ranged from the actual book production, to the contents inside and made all of us hungry to hear Catherine Ann reading from her work.

Catherine Ann read a selection of varied poems from the collection, but one that really appealed to me was based on her meeting her future partner at the Chester Beatty library in Dublin, one of the city's wonderful archives. I give you her opening lines:

We have only just met
Downstairs at the Chester Beatty Library
We have not touched each other yet


Upstairs Durer's Adam and Eve are contemplating
Each other and the apple
The serpent is already waiting


This gives a great flavour of the motifs that recur in this collection. Cullen uses myths, legends and biblical beginnings as a jumping off point to explore how humanity cannot resist being tempted - as indeed Oscar Wilde once wittily put it, 'I can resist anything except tempation.

This post is a little rushed, due to all hell breaking loose here, but I intend revisiting Catherine Ann's book at a later stage. In the meantime, I am off to Kerry for a week tomorrow, so have a blog party here if you like - comfy beanbags and lots of food left in the fridge!


Doghouse Poets and Publisher, left to right: Hugh O'Donnell, Catherine Ann Cullen, Noel King, yours truly, and Anatoly Kudryavitsky.

8 comments:

Unknown said...

What appealing and rich lines of poetry.

Have a wonderful time in Kerry, travel safely and have fun!

Kay Cooke said...

You look so poet-like! Did you read too? BTW sshhh ... I wanted you to win the Shameless Lion contest.

Jon M said...

I wanna be in Kerry...that sounds wrong...ooh bean bags...wonder what they're like on toast...

Coirí Filíochta said...

Bleddy hell, i was there too, and dissappeared into the night with Dr quincy lehr, trinity ollamh, adjourning to donohoes to discuss executive lore for our online community of his most herr dictatorness and the thralls who flock to whupass' gaffe, the nomen of our online nemetom.

Norris can't half go windy, but still, still a truth outed in his waffle, and if you are around on the 8 Septemeber, come and read a poem at the patrick kavanagh celebration in the palace bar..

apprentice said...

Great report, and what a loaded few lines those are.

Enjoy your week!

Jan said...

THat poem is fabulous...Thankyou!

Unknown said...

sounds interesting...

off to look in the blogosphere!

can you tell I've landed yet?

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