Don't Go There |
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Colm Keegan |
ISBN: 978-1-908836-06-9 Page Count: 114 Publication Date: Thursday, May 31, 2012 Cover Artwork: Erica Keegan |
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About this Book
Colm Keegan's poetry is a soulful yet visceral evocation of what it is to live in a Dublin rarely seen in its un-exaggerated form in the literary world. A life and a mode of living and seeing that refuses to be marginalised are set against a backdrop of palpable geography. Rarely has a poet's voice, unfamiliar but true in it's every utterance, been captured so well as it is in Keegan's first collection. From the first poem to the last the energy of the verse of his life and living never flags. Family, friends, children and the urban sprawl he renders sparely yet lyrically, all are grist to the mill of Colm Keegan's poetics.
“Sometimes you meet poets with soul, sometimes with experience, sometimes with talent. But you seldom meet a poet with all three. Colm Keegan is one such poet.” Dave Lordan
“The poetry of Colm Keegan brims with frenetic energy and a hard-earned street-wise lyricism, bereft of false notes or unearned experience. These new poems for a new era grow into a powerful and often dark portrayal of contemporary Dublin: an exploration of the streetscape of urban estates teeming with the complexity of life. It delves into the richest and the darkest corners of the human condition, without Keegan ever compromising the deep humanity at the core of his unblinking vision of life passing by.” Dermot Bolger |
Author Biography
Colm Keegan has read and performed his poetry at various festivals, including the Flat Lakes Festival, Electric Picnic and the Festival of World Cultures. He was the All Ireland Slam Poetry Champion in 2010. He also writes short stories and screenplays and has been shortlisted four times for the Hennessy New Irish Writing Award for both poetry and fiction. In 2008 he was shortlisted for the International Seán Ó Faoláin Short Story Competition. In 2011 he was nominated for the Absolut Fringe’s ‘Little Gem’ Award for the play Three Men Talking About Things They Kinda Know About (co-written with Kalle Ryan and Stephen James Smith) which is touring 2012/2013. He is a poetry/arts reviewer and contributing poet for RTE Radio One’s nightly arts show ARENA and co-founder of ‘Nighthawks at the Cobalt’. He is co-founder and facilitator of Inklinks, a young writers club in Clondalkin and teaches creative writing in secondary schools across Ireland. He maintains a popular blog and his poetry performances are widely viewed on YouTube. He is currently finishing his first novel.
Listen to more audio recordings at Soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/uiscebot
Colm Keegan's Twitter page: https://twitter.com/#!/UISCEBOT
Author Photograph: © Joe McCartney, The Echo |
Read a sample from this book
The Crackle
There's a party full of 'Fat-Frogs'
and coke all over the table.
There's a man out by the Liffey
getting out while he's able.
There's a fight starting somewhere
a fellah getting stabbed.
There's a car doing hand-brakers
two girls jumping a cab.
There's twitchy bouncer hacks
keeping an eye on the door.
That poor lad in the jacks stuck
cleaning puke off the floor.
The country's getting locked.
There's nobody to care.
There's a slut going down
and there's danger in the air.
There's men drowned in money
girls who'll never bend.
There's a beggar whispering 'honey'
but that's nothing down his end.
There's the gentle sound of heartbeats.
There's alleys full of death.
There's a man after your brother.
There's a lightness to your breath.
All these people hanging around
everybody acting cool
and the night-times fucking freezing
but don't let that fool you.
There's a crackle to this city
There's a steam of dreams that rises
and it gets behind your eyeballs
and it kind of compromises
the concrete
the shell
all the bits that sing 'to hell with it.'
There's another bit
a hoping bit
that screams out
Make a difference.
The city's
electricity.
It shines on us.
We're sparkling!
And love it man
'cause further out
there's nothing
only darkness. Dear Dealer
Don't get me wrong:
I've had nice times with blokes like you.
Been in the company of some real nice joes.
Young bucks with bright clothes
dudes
buds and bros
who brighten a room with their presence.
But it is endlessly depressing
when you lean in close like that
and say 'Listen - If you're stuck,
I'll hook you up:
I've Coke or blow,
just so you know'.
and the way you wink,
not realising what I'm thinking.
Are you stupid or what?
Have you simply forgotten
all those other scurrying specimens?
Yeah sure
you'll be different.
You're going to make it:
you'll avoid the rats on the run
all the psychos with guns.
And if you do survive
you'll end up just like all the rest.
Making the common man's
worst nightmare
your twisted best
as you develop a blindspot
for the children watching
when you shoot men in the head.
All hopscotch stopped dead
by some bro or Daddy's blood
spraying a short spattering rain
that burns like acid
into their childhoods.
But no
not you
hands open you plead.
Your one of the nice dealers,
you'll just take what you need
and have nothing to do
with the bodies piling up in newspapers.
Brains exposed to the air
a heaving mess of black thoughts and goo
to be tiptoed around
and waded through.
Not just by me
but by every other poor shmoe
who has to live in this coliseum
that your greedy claws
have the gall
to maul and shape
from the muck on
our once clean streets.
So please excuse me
if for the sake of my dignity
I will keep you away from me
and in my mind paint you black
as I smile with quiet tact
and count the targets
on your back as you leave.
Copyright © Colm Keegan 2012
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