The great Irish poet Paddy Kavanagh distinguished between provincial and parochial artists. For former, he said, ignored the homeplace; for instance, the Inishkeen poet writing for the Dublin set. The parochial poet, however, writes for those nearby and so doing t aps into universal themes and feelings. No longer self-consciously shamrocky or, more self-consciously, avoiding everything Irish, such Irish poets as Cashman are parochial and global. Cashman begins his fine new collection in Palestine, another divided and war-weary land, in which people "wait in darkness for a dawn" and "melody [is] all peeled from our song." The poem is remarkably tuned to the tragic beauty of occupied lands, where "negotiation is a song / with its rhythm, rhyme, and wrong" and people love one another despite it all. Elsewhere, he seamlessly links the Irish language and references to Irish traditions to epigrams from Geronimo and classical allusions. In a sure, measured voice, Cashman shows that natural beauty and family affection are the same in Jerusalem and Portmarnock.
Seamus Cashman On Poetry Reading
through Iowa, September 2010 [and his forthcoming London Poetry
International Festival reading on 30 October 2010 at Southbank]
Have just about recovered from US trip which included a poetry reading
journey that took me across the billowy landscapes of the state of Iowa.
Instigated and organised by the Poet Laureate of Iowa, Mary Swander, I
was travelling with poet Joan McBreen whose husband Joe did all the
driving, much to my relief.
I had just spend four days at the annual gathering of Fellows of The
Black Earth Institute in Wisconsin, debating and sharing aspects of
poetry and the arts in relation to spirituality, the environment and
social justice. A ‘progressive’ artists and scholars think-tank, Black
Earth Institute has been an all too brief haven of inspiration, learning
and discussion in September in each of the past three years.
We swandered our way across the state, beginning by the Loess Hills at
Omaha's Uni. of Nebraska, just west of the Missouri river, hosted of
Professor John Price (author of the award-winning memoir,
Man killed by pheasant)
with lunchtime and evening readings, and dinner at The Brazen Head!
Then, back into Iowa for reading and discussion sessions at Ames State
Uni (bodhráned into a working lunch by the Poet Laureate herself), to
Ames High School for two packed and exciting sessions, and to Des
Moines, the state capital – for an evening 'Erin Fest' of readings in
the elegance of the State Governor's Mansion to the strains of an Irish
harp and graced by two superb young local dancers, and where poets are
welcomed by the state’s Lt Governor, Patty Judge, and introduced by the
Poet Laureate.
Next morning it was back roads to Northern Iowa Uni. in Cedar Falls for a
mid-day reading and question-time, and thence south to the famed
Prairie Lights Bookstore in Iowa City. Here we read under the auspices
of its world famous International Writers Program (Iowa City is a UNESCO
designated ‘City of Literature’, as just recently is Dublin). There we
read to, and met with poets in residence from Palestine (see below),
Djibouti, Iceland, Venezuela, Germany, Goa, Albania and many other
countries – this was a highlight of the tour, and drew a full house.
Our final stop on the tour was the lovely city of Dubuque in Iowa, about
the size of Galway, on the banks of the Mississippi and set amid
forested hilly drumlin-like surrounds. A very different Iowan landscape.
We read here at the University of Dubuque, and in Loras college, both
small private colleges, one hosted by the poet-in-residence Lauren
Allyene from Trinidad who enjoys the emerald green of Ireland and its
literature; the other hosted by Andrew Auge, a scholar who has written
extensively on contemporary Irish poetry. Both events had very full
houses of graduates & students, staff and some general public - as
indeed had earlier venues.
By that night, Joan and I had completed nine readings and I had also
done a one-hour interview on a popular Iowa public radio talk show –
introduced as a poet but questioned on human rights in Ireland, on
Palestine, and on the state of Irish economy; I managed to get the space
to close with a poem! Next morning I returned to Ireland, Joan and Joe
continued the reading circuit for another couple of weeks in colleges
and states further south.
The Palestinian poet I met at Iowa City's International Writers Program is Najwan Darwish. His first poetry collection,
He was Knocking at the Last Door, was published in 2000, and his work has been translated into Spanish, French and English. He is editor of
Min wa Illa, / From and To,
a magazine in Jerusalem which publishes Arab writers and artists in the
region. In 2009 he was selected by the ‘Beirut39 Festival’ as one of
the best Arab writers under the age of 39. He had already read some of
my 'Secrets' sequence of poems written following a visit to Palestine
and published in
That Morning Will Come
(SalmonPoetry, 2007). To my surprise (and delight) I learned from him
that he had nominated me for the forthcoming Poetry International
Festival in London's Southbank. The London invitation has now arrived:-
"Poetry International runs this year from Saturday 30 October – 7 November,
and has a strong focus on poets and poetry from the Middle East and
Palestine. Our opening night event features four poets from the
region/diaspora - Nouri al-Jarrah, Fady Joudah, Hyam Jared and Najwan
Darwish – who are each inviting a UK/Irish poet that they’d like to read
with. Najwan Darwish would like to read with you, and I’m hoping that
you’ll be available to join us. The event is on Saturday 30 October at
7.45pm in Purcell Room."
So, All Thanks and All Hail to that great Iowa Poet Laureate, Mary Swander! (
www.maryswander.com).
She has introduced me to the extraordinary hospitality and generosity,
and the welcoming and questioning interest of American poetry reading
audiences.
