Your guide to the arts, music and more in County Wicklow Poets invited to submit their work
A NEW creative project entitled ‘My Place’ is calling for people of all ages living in the wider Greystones area to submit a short poem inspired by the locality, its history and its stories.
Curated by Frances Browner, and delivered in partnership with Ross McParland, this project seeks a creative response to the question, ‘What does this place mean to you?’, with a selection of the poetic responses being displayed along Theatre Lane this summer.
Since its celebrated re-birth at the attentive hands of Ross McParland, Theatre Lane has become the cultural beating heart of Greystones, with the beautifully refurbished Whale Theatre sitting at the centre of this award-winning project. In addition to the bustling venue itself, Theatre Lane is a hub of activity with a diverse range of theatre, music and dance groups calling it home.
Although the theatre itself is a performing arts venue, there is no shortage of visual art adorning outdoor surfaces on all sides. As part of the extensive renovations,
Ross McParland commissioned Russian-born, Greystones-based artist Irina Kuksova to create the giant Whale mural, which is now a firm feature in the town, and her smaller paintings also subtly embellish Theatre Lane itself.
Now, there is a unique opportunity for people living in the wider Greystones area, including Charlesland, Kilcoole and Delgany, to become part of this development by sending in a poetic response to questions such as ‘What does this place mean to you?’, ‘What childhood memories do you have of this place?’ and ‘What is it like to live here today?’
The project is being curated by Frances Browner, who grew up in Dublin and spent 20 years in New
York, before relocating to Greystones. Her short stories have been published in Ireland’s Own and Woman’s Way magazines, one taking 2nd prize at the Dromineer Literary Festival 2010 and another shortlisted for the Francis McManus radio award. Her poems have also been published widely, including in the Ogham Stone, Boyne Berries and Bray Arts Journal. Her collection, ‘Roots & Wings’, was published by Revival Press and launched in Greystones Library in December 2019.
To be considered for the installation, send your submission directly to Frances at frannerb2@gmail.com in an MS Word document attachment. The submission can be in the form of a sonnet, ode, villanelle, ballad, funny rhyme or haiku and should be 16 lines or less. The deadline for submissions is Monday, April 13.