Category Archives: Portfolio

Out Of The Silence TV documentary

Poetry, PortfolioTelevision, Television

It was a great pleasure to be interviewed by writer, Anne McMaster for DoubleBand Films’ hour-long documentary ‘Out Of The Silence’, directed by Jane Magowan and produced by Jonathan Golden. It explores women writing today, and in the past, in Ulster-Scots.

Anne and the crew came recorded me at home in Ballycastle where I delivered my poem, ‘A Heerd Tha Sodjer On Tha Radio’. This poem originated in my kitchen and is set there so what better place to do it?

Wendy Erskine, Dawn Watson and Jan Carson also feature in the documentary. The work of the late Frances Molloy was a discovery for me, prompted by the recording. Her novel, ‘No Mate For The Magpie’ (1985) and short story collection, ‘Women Are The Scourge Of The Earth’ (1989) are memorable, visceral and inventive. As was that of the acerbic, eighteenth-century writer, Olivia Elder.

Anne McMaster’s latest book, ‘Martha And The Vardo’ is out recently. Available from [email protected].

Poems for Wales PENCymru 10th anniversary

Blog, Online, Poetry, Portfolio, PortfolioPrint

During Wales in London Week, around St David’s Day, there’s a celebration of the significant contribution to London of Welsh culture. On February 29th WalesPENCymru held a poetry reading and music event at The Poetry Society’s Poetry Cafe to mark the organisation’s thenth anniversary. The theme was ‘Wales as a Multilingual Country’.

The Wales branch of PEN is one of the largest in terms of membership. It is affiliated to PEN International.

PEN promotes literature and defends freedom of expression. It campaigns on behalf of writers around the world who are persecuted, imprisoned, harassed and attacked for what they have written. It has committees representing writers in prison, translation and linguistic rights, women writers and a peace committee.

A glance at WalesPENCymru’s website shows the range of events and campaigns that run throughout the year http://walespencymru.org/ They are all designed to support the freedom to speak of writers and journalists worldwide and also in Wales and the UK.

I was invited to read my poem, ‘Colony’ which is about what happens to language in the process of colonisation and I wrote a new poem for the event, ‘Wales/Cymru’.

At the London event we listened to the National Poet of Wales, Hanan Issa (below). And to Wales PEN Cymru’s president, the renowned Welsh poet, Menna Elfyn.

The Turkish writer Mehmet Ali Alabora spoke about living in Wales and the importance of the Welsh language.

The Kurdish musician, Ali Zeynel (below) played and sang in his minority language and then gave us the Welsh folksong, ‘Dacw ‘nghariad i lawr yn y berllan’.

photos and video by Dominic Williams of https://write4word.org/write4word

Watch the event on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsioNQ3TddM

In my collection, Sanctuary https://www.serenbooks.com/book/sanctuary-there-must-be-somewhere/ I have a poem written for Letter With Wings, an Irish PEN campaign for the release of the unjustly imprisoned jounalist, Nedim Turfent. Thankfully he was released in Novemeber 2022, after 6 years in prison.

Guest-editor Arts section Fortnight magazine

Blog, Editor, Portfolio, PortfolioPrint, Prose, Radio

It has been a great pleasure to guest-edit the Arts section of issue 492 of Fortnight.

The politics, social affairs and arts magazine launched in Northern Ireland in 1970. Throughout the Troubles and beyond it was an essential forum for discussion and evaluation. Fortnight re-launched in 2020.

Out today, 15th January.

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BBC Radio Wales: Weekend Word

Poetry, Portfolio, PortfolioRadio, Radio

Excerpt: On 1st December

We are living at a time when, through the media, we see power being wielded ruthlessly. We witness the destruction caused by war and by wayward market forces. Often the two are linked. There’s so much conflict happening that the news can hardly keep up with it. It can feel overwhelming.

The 2023 Reuters Institute digital news report states that close to 36% of news consumers say they avoid news, often or sometimes. To some extent this is prompted by concern to protect  mental health.  We need accurate and trustworthy news but its frequency and pervasiveness across platforms can lead to feelings of helplessness – knowing so much; able to do so little.

And some interests will encourage us to stay passive; to undervalue the good we can do; to leave politics to the powerful; to neglect the power of compassion, generosity, solidarity.  I try to describe that cynical outlook in this short poem:

DECEMBER 28th

After Christmas – always – Childermas: Slaughter of Innocents; Threat Neutralised.

The Prince of War, glistening with success, allures us.

This, he says, is what you want. Not a stable, sheep-herding losers, a star.

Poem in ‘Yarns’

Poetry, Portfolio, PortfolioPrint

The third edition of Ulster Scots anthology, ‘Yarns’ includes my poem

THA GOOLDEN WHUN

Ulstèr fowk ir like tha whun,

thoarny wi’oot an goold wi’in;

prood tae be thrawn, naw taen in

bi chancers’ flum;

tha fit yince plantit, nat fer muivin

whutiver come.

But wha wi whun wud be acquent

shud aye be minefu tae tak tent

nat tae be deggert ower an rent

bi stab an birsie;

an ‘stainch’ is ‘dour’ less it be blent

wi safnin mercie.

Thoarny tha whin – an tha wile rose

that in tha yin Ulstèr hedgera growes.

Tha whun’s a wal – an yit tha rose

is mairch an boondrie;

houls tha line in lichtsome claes

gainst al an soondrie

Hard tae be saft though we intend it.

‘Gin bein gommed we’r well defendit.

Still, whun an rose, baith bricht, baith scentit,

cud stan fur this:

Alloo oor goold an dinnae stint it

– less jag, mair kiss.

This is the third anthology, published by the Ulster Scots Community Network, November 2023. It’s a showcase of new poetry and prose, including from some writers publishing in Ulster Scots for the first time.

Childermas – The Coventry Carol

Online, Poetry, Portfolio, PortfolioPrint
The Coventry Carol – a poem by Angela Graham

*The medieval Coventry Carol refers to the Slaughter of the Innocents, the killing of all male infants in Bethlehem ordered by King Herod to eradicate ‘the infant king’ the Wise Men had told him had been born. It is commemorated on 28th December every year and has long been known in England as ‘Childermas’. My poem is published in Amethyst Review for this date 2023.

The illustration header is part of the marble inlaid floor of Siena Cathedral depicting the Slaughter (c. 1481).

A-WAITIN ON THA WHUSSLE

Poetry, Portfolio, PortfolioPrint

36TH (ULSTER) DIVISION, 7.21 a.m., 1st July 1916

A’m liein here this brave while,

yin o Genèral Nugent’s men,

oot in Nae-man’s Lan gye an earlie

that bit neardèr tae thaim Huns,

tae be readie, an mair nor readie,

fur whan tha whussle wheeps.

A’m liein here this lang while,

face-doon in tha glar,  

tha barrage up aheid.

Barrage,

a saft, saft wurd

fur a wile heavy thïng.

Barrage, Barrage – lik whut ye’d say

tae peacify an ailin baist,

straikin its sheeglin hide,

“Barrage, barrage, oul sinn,

yer pain’ll soon be bae ye.”

Barrage! Barrage! Barrage!

a wrathsome nieve, blargein,,

duntèrin, poondin…

… till tha delf leps frae tha boord

            an doon it dings agane

Agane, agane he’d dae it,

a man tae murdèr  

onie bit o peace.

A’d lie, face doon, oot o his road,

ma hauns tae ma lugs,

keepin him oot o ma heid.

Ma faither…

Aa tha wrathsome faithers o tha worl

is here theday,

blattèrin thair weans

in yin great stramash.

we ir sae smaa unnèr this sky o shells,

tha grun aneath iz swallaed up bae soon

an we its spu’ins! Thon scraich

wull split ma heid!

Struck deef…!

Nae soon? Tha

guns hae

stapt.

Yin mïnit fur tae tak a braithe …

Yin mïnit fur tae see, sae clear,

sae clear, thon lang-deid man,

his nieve aye clinchit

but, sae clear jest noo,

a luk o pain

flictèrin owre his face…

Yin mïnit mair

an A’ll be on ma feet

fur God an Ulstèr an tha Croon…

Ma Faither God, ye didnae spare yer sinn.

Inunnèr hemmer blows Ye lee’d him

Yit an wi aa he sayed, “Intae Yer hans…”

Ma sperrit… can A trust Ye wi it?

An wi ma faither’s…?

… fur tha sake o his yin nekked luk o sorra,

eneuch tae mak ma hairt gae oot tae him

an thon’s tha whussle

an tha wurd

that haes me up

an forrit

intae Yer hauns…

On the first morning of the First Battle of the Somme (1st July 1916), General Nugent sent Armagh Volunteers into no-man’s-land before zero hour. They had to lie and wait till the whistle blew for the general advance at 7.30am, the idea being that they would be that bit closer to their objective (the Hun). The first of them were sent out at 7.10am and then three further groups of Nugent’s Ulstermen at five-minute intervals. They had to lie under the ‘curtain’ of British shell bombardments passing above them. This must have been a horrifying experience.

This poem appeared in ‘Yarns’, 2021, an anthology of Ulster-Scots writing published by the Ulster-Scots Community Network. My grandfather was from Newtownstewart in County Tyrone, so the poem is not based on his experience. He was in the 36th (Ulster) Division which also took part in this battle. I wrote this poem in Ulster-Scots because he and so many of the men would have spoken like this. A tiny glossary: Glar sticky mud; Sheeglin trembling; Nieve fist.