
Rostrevor Literature Festival
After a year of dreaming about it and months of planning and nerve-wrecking wait for funding, the international village of Rostrevor in county Down, Northern Ireland, will hold its very first literature festival. The Kilbroney Community Association's sub-committee is made up of a bunch of readers, writers and enthusiasts, lead by William (Billy) K. Graham, political journalist. They got support from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Newry and Mourne Council, so the eve

Mothers and Sons published by Demeter Press, Canada
Earlier in the year, Demeter Press published Mothers and Sons - an anthology edited by Besi Brillian Muhonja and Wanda Thomas Bernard. They included seven of my poems. I was invited to read at the launch and with the support of the Art's Council of Northern Ireland and The Open University I was able to travel. It was a wonderful experience, and I made so many friends. The reading took place at the Pantages Hotel in Victoria Street Downtown Toronto on 15th October. Chapter 11

The ambassador of freedom
Leonard Cohen died today. Cohen’s words to Marianne from earlier in the year: “I think I’ll follow you very soon” echo in my mind, together with his harrowing deep voice narrating a Canadian documentary on the Tibetan Book of the Dead. His metaphors are unforgettable - for he found the humour in the reveal that come about when we match two unlike things to express our complex minds or emotions. I don’t believe in chance and Cohen’s leaving reassured me. Enlightened beings cho