Belfast LAUNCH 6pm 15th October in conversation with Sam McBride of the Belfast Telegraph Truth Be Told: Journalism & Poetry – Belfast Exposed
Belfast Launch / Journalism & Poetry: in conversation Sam McBride
Category Archives: Poetry
4 interviews with CAP Arts ‘The Monthly’
Gordon Hewitt interviewed me – very perceptively – for the May 2026 Poetry and Spoken Word issue and I appreciate this great opportunity to reflect on my writing practice.
Imaging Writers in Public in Wales
I’m very pleased to be featured among the portraits of writers taken by photographer, John Briggs for his exhibition Write in the Eye at Cwtsh Gallery, Newport.
‘ Write In The Eye’ brings together some 100 portraits in colour and black and white of Wales-based writers since 2002. Selected from thousands of images and taken at all manner of literary events in Wales over the past 25 years – festivals, book launches, award ceremonies, readings at open mics, literary walks, authors at home – the series illustrates just how rich and varied the Welsh literary scene is today, was and will continue to be.
John Briggs is a wonderful photographer.
Exposure reviewed in Fortnight
Maureen Boyle is a poet and former committee member of the John Hewitt Society.
Her review is published in Fortnight magazine issue 502 July 2026
The Poetry of Hope workshop
This was a day of great creativity. In my workshop we looked at examples of poetry across a spectrum from blank despair to marked optimism and worked, prompted by these, to write fresh material. It was a moving experience.
Participants in both workshops met after lunch to do a shared reading which was eye-opening in its breadth and variety.
The Language of Belonging
I was delighted to appear on a panel at the Jaipur Literature Festival – Island of Ireland JLF we discussed how writing can draw on experiences of duality and change, and how literature, in its many forms, becomes a home for identity, inheritance, and connection. Writer and editor, Elaine Canning was due to chair but was, unfortunately, unwell so crime novelist, Paul Waters – Author – Author, Podcaster, Broadcaster, Trainer (left below) stepped in. Maire Zepf, the first Children’s Writing Fellow (2017 – 2019) for Northern Ireland is centre.
Between the panellists many languages were represented. Cauvery Madhavan the Indian novelist living in Ireland spoke about capturing Irish voices in her work.
It was good to see my short story collection, ‘A City Burning’ (Seen Books) for sale among great company.
Exposure at Waterstone’s Coleraine 16 May
2pm Saturday 16th May I did a reading from my new poetry collection
Poetry Reading with Angela Graham | Events at Waterstones Bookshops
It was a pleasure to interact with such a receptive audience. I was asked what in my own life had led to my interest in conflict. A fair question! I tried to answer honestly. There was an exchange about minorities, what it’s like to be in one, or not. Frank and direct. And several people shared their own artistic practice.
Is love ever present at the root of violent action? Another issue that came up. Can someone behave violently motivated by love of something? What is love in such circumstances? Big questions.
Neill Walker, manager at the Coleraine branch, was a great host.
Exposure launches at Corrymeela
I was delighted to launch ‘Exposure’ at Corrymeela, the centre for peace and reconciliation which is only a short walk from my Ballycastle home. And particularly pleased that the event was held in An Croí, the wonderful building whose name is Irish for ‘The Heart’ and which expresses the welcoming and inclusive approach of the centre. It was designed by Norman Hawthorne in 1979. The photograph of it at the head of this article is from a post by his son Corin Hawthorne.
Documentary poetry
Angela Graham considers the influence of her career as a documentary-maker on her poetry collection Exposure: war, media, democracy from Culture and Democracy Press.
This appeared in nation.cymru (without Enemy in the Woods images) on 22.3.26
My new collection of poetry, Exposure: war, media, democracy began from my response to a photograph of a dead Russian soldier on the outskirts of Kharkiv. It was taken on the invasion’s third day, but he had died on its first afternoon.
As I saw more and more photographic coverage of this one death, there before me was evidence of how the choices made by the photographers were emphasising particular aspects of the scene. Changes in the weather were powerful influences – snow loomed, arrived, dominated, melted; as were changes in access – front line crisis, aftermath, stasis. Each variable was likely to touch one rather than another emotional chord in the viewer. Every image was ‘true’ but many images considered in relation to one another revealed the complexity in the circumstances, making them more challenging to decipher – the truth deepened; or the truth undermined?
Continue reading Documentary poetry
Exposure on All Things Considered, BBC Radio Wales
I was interviewed about ‘Exposure’ by Delyth Liddell on the BBC Radio Wales multi-award-winning weekly programme ‘All Things Considered‘.