Poetry as Commemoration: A workshop with Maria McManus

Poet Maria McManus will lead two creative writing workshops responding to archival items from the Irish War of Independence & Civil War.

In the first workshop, participants will examine and discuss archival items from the Linen Hall Library’s collection. Participants who have family stories or materials relating to the revolutionary period are invited to share these, but no family connection is necessary and all are welcome. The second workshop will focus on honing your writing skills and completing a piece of work. Participants will be invited to submit their creative writing to UCD Special Collections to form an archive of commemorative practice for future generations.

Poetry of Commemoration/ Cuimhní Fileata is an initiative of the Irish Poetry Reading Archive at UCD in partnership with Poetry Ireland, supported by the Dept. of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 programme. Project partners are Poetry Ireland and Arts Council Northern Ireland.

Poetry as Commemoration aims to encourage a greater understanding of our shared past through creative engagement with archival materials. These include letters, accounts, diaries, manuscripts, photographs and newspapers held in libraries and archives across the island of Ireland. Such documents provide a tangible link with the past and can be emotive and inspiring. For more information see www.poetryascommemoration.ie

Participants are required to attend both workshop sessions.