Looking forward to hearing you read Audrey - best of luck!

Can't wait, to hear you Audrey! Thrilled to be here

Best of luck Audrey!! Looking forward to hearing all the poems!

Best of luck Audrey, looking forward to hearing you read. x

Good luck Audrey!

What a wonderful occasion! Congratulations Audrey!

Good luck Audrey. John too. Be great.

Best of Luck, Audrey

Best of luck John, looking forward to hearing you read.

Please feel free to let us know where you're joining us from!

Sligo, Ireland

From Lisburn,, Northern Ireland

Good evening from Mullingar, Ireland

Me too, Iseult Healy!

Hello from Hamburg, Germany

Good luck Audrey! Shame not to be able to raise a glass in person but I’ll be doing so from Donegal.

Ireland!

Galway, Ireland

Swords, Irealnd

St Louis, Missouri US

Mayo, Ireland!!

Hello from Andalucia!

Greystones, Co. Wicklow

good evening from Dublin and best of luck to both!

Hi Aud, best of luck Maeve and Jill

Copenhagen, Denmark

Evening Everyone, Greetings from Dublin Ireland from Alan and Miriam Molloy. Good luck to you both.

Hi John and all - greetings from Australia :-)

Hi from Galway

Great to be joining you from Bailieborough,Co Cavan! Wishing you both the very best.

Hello everyone! Delighted you could join us!

Hello from Staffordshire, England! Good luck both, can't wait to hear your fabulous poems.

Good to be here - James Finnegan

Hello Audrey and everyone. Good evening from County Saarland, Germany.

Hi Cherry

Adh mor , Audrey!

Greetings from Portugal! Looking forward to the readings….

Hello All from Aghabullogue, the very best to The Poets this evening, congratulations ye both, 👏👏

Good luck to Audrey, John and Vona!

Hello from Liverpool …Lovely to be ‘here’

Good luck Audrey, John.

Hello from Sydney Australia

Nice to be tuned in Looking forward John and Audrey

Hello everyone from Cork.

Go Audrey!

Galway, Ireland

Happy launch day, John and Audrey!

Melbourne...

Happy launch day!!! Best of luck!!

Hello from Manchester!

Good luck everyone and congratulations Audrey & John.

Dundalk

Good luck and congrats to both of you!

This is definitely worth getting up at 530 for :)

The Time Being (JF)Now, just before noon,still morning a few minutes more,the mist lifts, and the sun comes out,and the fields beyond the wood are visible,bright between the trees, making hersit up from her bolsteramong breakfast things, books,newspapers, notelets, a photograph,…

throw back the counterpane, standand stretch and walk to the bayto swing wide the windows, her arms opento the warmth of the sun returning,and watch as the last straw balesare gathered from the paddocksso that the full extent of the flattestland can be cleared and freefor her to catch and groom and tackher sable mare to ride all day,,,

through fresh stubble still harbouringplentiful grain for the grey birdsflocking to, as she on her mountstriding now holds high her headin the last warm rays pouringlike silken gold over hair and arms and face.

Just beautiful, John. And great to be able to read along - thanks, Daragh.

Beautiful piece John.

Lovely John.

wonderful, John.

That's fantastic John - well done

The Important Things (AM)i.m. Marianne IhlenThere’s a word in Scots Gaelic — sgrìob —which refers to the tingle on the upper lipjust before you take a sip of whisky.We are talking — after the burial,now they’ve allowed funerals again —across a table no bigger than a dinner plateabout those we’ve lost to the virus,and whisky or whiskey — the important things —when Roy Buchanan comes on the jukeboxand I can almost taste the lightfilm of sweat on your skin.I should have known it right then:an inventor will always be curious,and that here, in this bar, months from now,you will sit in false darknesswith another muse,while on our white-board veranda,its double swing written by Harper Lee,I’ll dip my best bristle brushin tin after tin of green —viridian, sap, olive, emerald —…

Elegant morning rituals

and slap paint mixed with salt onto timber shadesuntil every trace of off-white is erased.I’ll forgive you, in time, everythingbut the way you changed my namein the song that made you famous,trimming a syllable to rhyme with began;the irony of that, since it was the end,and not even our story,though all unhappy stories resemble each other.But let’s not catastrophize,we haven’t yet begun, and right here, right now,in The Fiddler’s Arms,there’s a feeling coming over me,a surface tension close to my upper lip,that no English word can describe.

WOW!!!!!!

Beautiful, Audrey. Such a joy to hear you reading your title poem

Gorgeous!

Fantastic poem Audrey

Beautiful Audrey.

Just fabulous, Audrey

Yes! Audrey, beautiful

Brilliant 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Fabulous, Ad

Wonderful, thank you Audrey

Even better hearing you read it

What a poem Audrey! Wow!

Thanks Audrey that's beautiful

One all draw,, right now, I'd say!

Hallelujah... Audrey

Forty-four (AM)A champagne hangover is no way to start the new year,not when the mercury reaches forty-four and we are drapedlike wax over the arms of leather lounges, tryingto suck the cool out of anything shiny.My tangerine sherbet cotton dress has darkened in a deltadown my back and clings to my thighs as I rinse cherries,slice the shocked cheeks off mangoes, criss-cross themand turn them inside out. My brain feels like this.…

Love that one, Audrey!

The bathers are back, panting, shoulders rashered; no onegallivants today. Eileen fills a bowl with iced waterand we take turns cooling our feet. Outside cicadas scream.Niall plays a chord on the guitar. Is it too early for Mojitos?

‘Shocked cheeks of mango’ - love that image!

superb

Love that poem. So vivid.

Loved that poem Audrey! ‘Like wax over the arms of leather lounges’

Disappearance (JF)Close to the ridgebetween Thingvellir and Borgarnes,she motioned to stop,got out,and walked across a lava trackto one of the drifts familiar from our long approachto force her hand into the snow —an iron-cold claspshe knew would loosen,if her warmth would hold.…

Very sensual poem, John.

Fabulous vivid poetry John and Audrey, and what a wonderful, warm, interesting launch Vona

Wonderfully wild John!

Good work, Vona. Warm.

You are what you are, John. Fractal rocks, John. Great.

How helpful to be able to see the words on “Chat” as the poet speaks them!

Thank you for that, John. 'the ultimate conversation' yes!

Who (JF)A light wind ruffles the river poplars,rousing me from daydreams of gold and green;when it reaches here the beech leaves shiver,then settle back to the season’s regimeof warmth and silence and limitless time —…

healing a body unused to this pace,and with nothing to think of but how to findmore time to while away in this place.It moves through the woods, a secret spokenby tree to tree, until it reaches the lane,and from there, or thereabouts, half-woken,a pigeon croons every now and again:Who? Who is it? Who-who, who is it?Who-who, who is it? Who?

Mother, I Am Your Mother Now (AM)We first talked under water, through quiet peristalsis.I don’t recall the words you spokebut I know they meant: At last. You are here.I never told you I was jellyfish,velvet worm, nautilus, before I came to you.I’ll drift the length of my umbilicus, a coracle of skin on bone.I’ll feel your pulse again, ripple through amnionwhere my limb buds wave your rhythm.My words will cross this liquor sea,wash up on the cobalt shores of your inner ear.I’ll carry you inside, as you once carried me.

I am really enjoying the dialogue between you and the poets, and the interweaving of their voices, Vona. Super launch

My favourite poem of yours Audrey

really beautiful and moving

Magnificent, Audrey!

I love that ending, absolutely stunning

Lovely poem Audrey

Stunning Audrey

I adore this poem Audrey. Such a powerful love poem

Audrey, superb.

beautiful Audrey

Wonderful readings John and Audrey, and loving the conversation between you three.

Stunning work

Naming the First-born (AM)You are as I dreamt you,alert and serene, packed like glassin peach skin, watching blueand green flash past the car.Your name shall be Ashling.Your eyes map my face(eye-nose-lips), two cocoa beans,a throwback to a stray Armada genefrom scuttled Spanish ships.We shall name you Valentina.…

`packed like glass in peach skin … exquisite

…Your road here was violent;nurses weigh my dressingsto chart blood loss, heavyblankets hide a battlefield.You shall be called Athena.You discover me like a lover,skin to skin, mouth to nipple,foot soles to lips,marbled belly to my kiss.Your name shall be Alaïa.Your fingers sway, anemones.You are ancient as ferns,fiddleheads unspooled in shade.I watch your willow hands all day.My child, your name is Grace.

so many fab images - love that packed like glass

Oh lord... that's a poem to make you weep.

Another powerful one, Audrey.

Pure Grace, Audrey

What a truly beautiful gift that poem will be for Grace.

Your News (JF)Something bighas shifted below groundor ruptured above the cloudsto raise the museum railings even higher,lengthen the streets and narrow the pavementscrammed with those who couldn’t all have knowntoday was Mercury’s day in the sun,holly blues these exotic leavesfloating through the scomfish air of W1soon to be rinsed by heavy rain failingto lighten the weight of sky or centrethe slid cargo still lodged belowso I might walk again without fear of falling.

Mallarme, John, said poetry is about words, not ideas. That's what he told Degas (who dabbled in poetry) when Degas said he couldn't write another poem because he'd run out of ideas. So, good idea, John, keeping a notebook of words.

I love the sense of that poem. Doesn't have to be explicit - its a sensation. Good poem John

John, can you tell the trees dancing in your on-screen backdrop this long lovely evening to sssshh a bit?

Well done to all - Vona, Audrey, John. Three great speakers.

For all those budding "Nature Writers" out there, this might be of interest: https://bit.ly/3xUU0Nx (Launch of the IWC Climate Writing Group)

Fascinating discussion.

False Memory (AM)My sister is under strict instructionsto relay every detail so I can rememberas if I’m there, instead of here,wandering Sydney’s Lower North Shorewith a toddler in a pram: the May morningin St Brigid’s church, the coffinwhere my mother lies resplendentin the fuchsia suit she wore to my wedding,her better-than-her-own-hair wig,blue eyes closed, lips shaped to a smile —she was always smiling — but also closed,no straight white teeth grazed with Rimmel.…

Audrey, in a poem like “MOTHER, I AM YOUR MOTHER NOW,” you justify the margins like a prose poem, shaped like a little postcard. Can you say something about your relationship to the poetic line, especially in a prose poem?

Outstanding last line, Audrey!

Thanks to John and Audrey, for making the world more beautiful.

Lovely launch Audrey & John. Huge congrats.

Wonderful presentation, both poets and the well-researched host. Splendid.

Beautiful heart wrenching poem Audrey

Thanks Audrey and John, for the emotional rollercoaster. It was really lovely to attend an event too!

Wonderful launch, Audrey and John, and splendid Questions by Vona. Well done all!!

Thank you so much, utterly brilliant.

A wonderful discussion. Thank you for a most inspiring poetry reading and discussion.

Fascinating discussion and wonderful reading. Thank you all.

an exciting event - gorgeous poems and readings and great questions

professional and instructive - beautiful works

Audrey so glad to have been able to share this evening with you - wonderful launch - congratulations to you and John - such and interesting and engaging event.

Superb launch - thank you Vona, Audrey, John, Daragh, and all at Gallery Press for an excellent evening of conversation, circling life and poetry.

Thank you John & Audrey for such an enjoyable launch. Looking forward to reading the collections in full!

Wonderful evening and wonderful poetry to soothe the soul. Thank you John, Audrey and Vona

Many thanks and well done Vona, Audrey and John.

Such a beautiful and enjoyable book launch - thanks to all of you for this.

Wonderful launch Vona, love the discussion and readings! Congrats to Audrey and John! Great evening. Thank you.

Terrific Vona - thank you

Flowering Cherry (AM, read by JF)A tree can sell a house, the agent says,when they view 10 Beech Drive as newlyweds.Its shot-silk trunk stands so close to the hedgeits blossom carpet-bombs the street by May.Come June, it casts lemonade shade as tar-seams melt, stick to bare feet kicking cansor skipping ropes slung between the footpaths,grounded only for a passing car.September’s red and ochre pot-pourriof leaves will bank against the windowsills.Boughs that vein the sky in winter willbe knobbed with sticky buds again by spring.Four years my young mother sees it bloombefore my bud unfurls, pink, in her womb.

The Collectors (JF, read by AM)While she slept on he would gather upthe bursts of birdsong around her window,the whipbird’s hiss-cracks from the edgeof the rainforest, a morning star,as one by one they all pulled outto follow the bright space-station of their dreams.During the day there would be eucalypts standinglike beasts of burden in the solid heat,the tremor he felt when she’d say the word creek,lorikeets rocketing through street treesand, once, the draw and sigh of evening seaas she pressed close to him, whispering her dreamof the leaf-thin eel tonguing its waythrough the rocks of the waterfall pool....

Later he would empty his pockets,adding to the seed-pods, prize shells, foundstones in her basket on the bookstand,and wait for when she might take it down,carry it out to the veranda, tip everythingacross the sandy table-topand examine each piece carefully,her face glowing in amber candlelight,then replace them all slowly, one by one,her own particular way.

Thank you Audrey and John for wonderful readings and many thanks Vona for questions illuminating so much. A beautiful evening of poetry. All best wishes from Liverpool…

Thanks to everyone who made time to be here tonight/this morning. I’m sure you’ll agree that it’s been a wonderful hour of poetry and discussion. Thanks to both poets, and to Vona for her outstanding facilitation.

Thank you all for a wonderful event. Superb readings and facilitation.

What a wonderful morning. Inspiring

Well done John and Audrey, it was a wonderful evening! MUP ; )

Great format, reading each other's poems.

Beautfiful poem, John!

Wonderful poems to end the evening!

thanks so much!

Great reading. thank you all.

Many thanks for a great evening!

Loved the format. Every launch should follow suit!

Wonderful launch!

excellent hosting & questions that opened such wealth of experience. thanks for wonderful launch

Thanks Vona for hosting a fantastic event and thanks to Audrey and John for the poetry, the imagination and the introspection your work will bring - once I get my hands on the books!

thank you and congrats!

Fabulous launch - what a pleasure to be here to witness it!

Thank you Vona for facilitating this lively discussion. A beautiful collaboration between John and Audrey and Gallery Press.

An absolutely marvellous evening! Thank you all so much!

Thanks everyone. Really enjoyed! Congrats to John and Audrey! And well done, Vona!

great launch, well done all

Thank you all for a lovely event

Thanks for a great evening. congrats to you both!

Fabulous stuff! Very enjoyable and congratulations to John and Audrey and Vona!

lovely lyrical evening, well done Vona

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

greetings from Poland Aud - and John as a former cork resident I really enjoyed your poetry - Audrey was my school friend and I am so grateful for all she gave me - much luck to both of you!!