Two Rivers Meet – a Unique Collaboration
A unique project between Limerick’s White House Poets and Northern Voices from Newcastle upon Tyne in North East England comes to fruition on Wednesday 30th April at the White House Pub in Limerick.
A special edition of ‘Revival’, the journal of the White House Poets, called ‘Two Rivers Meet - Poetry from the Shannon and the Tyne’ will be launched featuring poets from the two cities. A delegation of poets from Newcastle will attend a civic reception at Limerick City Hall, hosted by the Mayor Councillor Ger Fahy earlier on in the afternoon, while the book will be officially launched later on that evening at the famous White House in O'Connell Street.
This ‘cultural twinning of our two cities’, as founder of the White House Poets Barney Sheehan puts it, is a result of a number of visits that Geordie poet Keith Armstrong has made to Limerick over the past couple of years, culminating in him been an invited guest at last year's Cuisle Poetry Festival when he proposed that our two cities should work together to promote a greater degree of cooperation in the area of cultural exchange.
As Barney Sheehan explains: ‘Limerick and Newcastle are two cities with many things in common, not least the fact that two great rivers flow through them: the Shannon and the Tyne. Both are university cities, both are great sporting cities and both have had similar difficulties in promoting the artistic, social and intellectual life of their communities in the face of negative press.The fact that our two cities should be brought together to celebrate their individual identities through poetry and that reciprocal visits should take place between our respective poetry groups is highly commendable and worthy of support'.
The White House Poets will visit Newcastle in June when a group of nine poets will read at a special reading to mark the English launch. They will meet the Lord Mayor of Newcastle Councillor Dave Wood and the poets will act as roving cultural ambassadors for Limerick.
The book is published through Revival Press, the imprint of the White House Poets and is edited by Keith Armstrong and Dominic Taylor. Speaking about the project Mr. Taylor said ‘that it was an exciting project to be involved with and the fact that the book will be on sale in England as well as Ireland means that the White House Poets will gain an international audience and further reading and publishing opportunities’.
Further Info: Dominic Taylor 087 2996409 or Barney Sheehan 086 8657494 email whitehousepoets@eircom.net or Keith Armstrong 0044 (0)1912529531 email k.armstrong643@btinternet.com
