Kilkenny County Council Arts Office is delighted to announce their annual call out for submissions for the twenty-fourth issue of the KILKENNY POETRY BROADSHEET. The aim of the publication is to give Kilkenny writers, born or based in Kilkenny, a platform for their work. We are thrilled to have James Harpur as this year’s editor. Last year over fifty writers answered the call out for submissions, sending in 105 poems for consideration. Twelve poems were selected by Editor Afric McGlinchey for publication and a further ten poets were shortlisted.

Following publication, the Broadsheet is available free throughout the city and county via the library branches and other venues.

In order to submit your poetry you will need to download the below application form and follow the instructions. You can either email your application form and poems to deirdre.southey@kilkennycoco.ie  or post the required documents to The Kilkenny Arts Office, St. Patrick's Court, Patrick Street, Kilkenny, R95 N28F

DOWNLOAD Application Form: Broadsheet 2024 Application Form.docx (size 87.3 KB)

Closing date for receipt of submissions is no later than 4pm on Friday 29^th March 2023

James Harpur has published eight books of poetry, including The Examined Life (2021), a verse memoir of his time at boarding school. He has also published a debut novel, The Pathless Country, set in Galway, Dublin and London in the years leading up to the 1916 Rising. It was winner of the JG Farrell Award and shortlisted for the John McGahern Prize. He is a member of Aosdána and lives in West Cork. You can visit his website at: www.jamesharpur.com

Full Day Workshop: POETRY AND MEMORY with James Harpur

Date:            Saturday 16^th March 2024

Time:            10.00am - 4.30pm

Location:     Butler House, Kilkenny

Bookings:     Email: deirdre.southey@kilkennycoco.ie or phone 056-7794547

Deadline for bookings: Monday 12^th March

Cost: €15

The Arts Office has organized with Broadsheet editor James Harpur to run a special full-day workshop prior to the poetry submission deadline. This will be a day to experiment and delve into the past and re-create memories into poems. In the morning we will look at poems associated with childhood and the ‘golden age’ of innocence and discuss what details we remember from our own pasts and what makes them so luminous.

In the afternoon we will focus on poems about people – how is it possible to capture the essence of someone in a few lines of verse? Why is poetry routinely used to express feelings about those who are getting married or those who have departed from this world?

The workshops are open to all writers, from those beginning their poetic journeys to those who are more experienced and have been published. What is important is an open heart, an open mind, and the willingness to have a go!