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#WeAreThePoets- celebrating the Pollardstown Fen

WeAreThePoets  – The Linnet and the Bee – exploring and celebrating the Pollardstown Fen through poetry and illustration

A programme designed by Riverbank Arts Centre taking place at the Curragh Family Resource centre and the Pollardstown Fen, as part of #WeAreThePoets an initiative of Laureate na nÓg. The first workshop is taking place on Thursday 2nd May (National Poetry Day!)  and will be led by poet Nell Regan and artist/illustrator Gráinne Bath Enright.

Poet Nell Regan and illustrator Grainne Bath Enright will explore the unique landscape of the Pollardstown fen (a nature reserve in the Curragh) through a series of workshops with children from the Curragh Family Resource Centre after school club.  Nell and Grainne will assist the children to celebrate the rich natural history of Pollardstown fen in their own poems and illustrations. 

The programme will conclude with an event and pop up exhibition  at Riverbank Arts Centre on 30th May, celebrating the work that has taken place.

 The Pollardstown fen, a rich ecosystem on our doorstep, will be captured and preserved in the poetry and minds of these young Curragh residents.

More information about the artists and Laureate na nÓg:

Nell Regan – Poet
Nell Regan is an award winning poet and non-fiction writer. She was a 2016 Patrick and Katherine Kavanagh Fellow following publication of her 3rd collection One Still Thing (Enitharmon Press, London, 2014) and her biography Helena Molony: A Radical Life 1883-1967 (Arlen House 2017) was an Irish Independent Book of the Year 2017. She has the been recipient of an Arts Council Literature Bursary and a Fulbright Fellow at the International Writing Programme, Iowa. She currently works as a literature curator and an educator on programmes including the World Wise Global Schools Writer Residencies (2nd level), Poetry Ireland Writers’ in Schools and in 2016 on the Children’s Books Ireland Seanchai Project with Galway ETNS.
www.nellregan.com

Gráinne Bath Enright – artist/illustrator
Originally from Kildare, and now based in Dublin, Gráinne is an eclectic Irish artist with a passion for the natural world. After obtaining a degree in Set Design from IADT, Gráinne moved on to pursue a career in design and scenic painting, working on large scale cloths and sets. Gráinne has created a collection of Fine Art Archival Prints inspired by her passion for wild things, and her enthusiasm for the natural world and its habitats.
https://www.instagram.com/grainne.b.e/


Laureate na nÓg is a project which recognises the role and importance of literature for children in Ireland.
The current Laureate is Sarah Crossan.

Laureate na nÓg has five key aims:

  • To introduce high quality children’s literature to a new audience of adults, children and young people.
  • To raise the profile of children’s literature in Ireland.
  • To increase media attention for children’s literature in Ireland and internationally.
  • To bring children’s literature into the mainstream conversation about books and literature in Ireland.
  • To build partnership and co-operation among various players in the children’s literature sector.

Sarah has identified a further theme as Laureate under the title #WeAreThePoets:
The #WeAreThePoets project will work with partners in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland inspiring young people to express themselves through poetry, whether written, spoken or performed. Sarah wants to give their voices and their stories a platform. Ultimately Sarah would like to curate and present work by children and young people from across the island under the banner #WeAreThePoets.

Sarah Crossan is a poet and novelist. She is Ireland’s fifth Laureate na nÓg and will hold the title from 2018 until 2020. For more information about Sarah’s writing: https://www.bloomsbury.com/author/sarah-crossan/

Laureate na nÓg is an initiative of the Arts Council, managed on the Council’s behalf by Children’s Books Ireland, with the support of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and Poetry Ireland.
More information: https://childrenslaureate.ie/