Sep 8 2021

The Formation and Aims of the Trans Writers Union

for those who don't belong

Anna Walsh

Note: I do not represent the Trans Writers Union. Rather, the Trans Writers Union represents me, and as such my personal thoughts recorded here do not necessarily speak for other members of the TWU.

In the summer of 2020, it seemed as though every weekend culture magazine in Ireland was giving certain writers a platform to bait and needle trans people, or were offering support to those who actively called for our heads.

I was writing grant applications and submitting work everywhere at the time, to both Irish and UK journals and arts councils, as well as trying to keep some money coming into the household, and the pressure of all this made me feel as though I was going nuts. There is something equal parts destabilising and uniquely boring about seeing the
Big Literary Heads indulging in their fantasy worlds, and I do not mean the books…

View original post 1,501 more words

Oct 14 2014

My Name, My Life

Inspired by The Ogham Stone I decided to commit myself to working on this piece. It is really a concept piece exploring the meanings behind the Ogam Fid and construction of my own name. I chose the Irish spelling of my name because of the uses of names in Irish while exploring an Irish concept such as the Ogam fid, but also because as my own self-created image I wanted to see how “linked in” to the past I would feel.

Níall Mac Siúrtáin

My Name, My Life

Nuin, the final flush – a birth from the Mother

Idad, the greatest change – an epidural of sorts

Ailm, the call to life – primordial aspirate

Luis, times two – is the blaze of life,

And a herb of medicine to make it right.

******

Muin, a journey by which all my forebears have come

Ailm, the ancestral tree from which I hail,

Cert, a wish upon a rag-bush – to pacify the Good Folk.

******

Straif, the biological and chemical change begun

Idad, a circle completing itself, leading to True Alchemy

Úr, toward the mighty north – the cold earthly sphere.

Ruis, the now, ever present evening twilight

Tinne, the tested metal of tradition – the bar to strive for!

Ailm, now completes my call – to those whose voice now lingers in old Halls.

Idad – final poultice for a life well lived

Nuin, and a rebirth to wander a child of earth beneath starry skies.

******

Níall Mac Siúrtain, a name of many meanings

With masks and performances all too trite!

Oct 14 2014

The Ogham Stone – UL’s literary and visual arts journal

If you’ve got words or pictures, we want them!

The Ogham Stone, the University of Limerick’s literary and visual arts journal invites all writers and artists to submit work for a stunning publication due out next February.

M.A students in Creative Writing and M.A students in English have come together to mastermind this journal, which they promise will be cutting edge. Already they have bagged new work by Donal Ryan, author of The Spinning Heart, to feature in this edition of The Ogham Stone and Joseph O Connor will provide the forward.

There is no time to delay. Closing date for submissions is 2nd November, 2014.

E-mail your prose, poetry and non-fiction to oghamstoneul@gmail.com

For full submission guidelines, see http://theoghamstoneul.wordpress.com/

Go on – you know you want to!

The Ogham Stone – University of Limerick

Aug 30 2014
Aside

Hi folks,

I have been overwhelmed by the myriad of comments and likes both on here and on FB and even on PoetryZoo. I’m so happy people are enjoying my poetry. After several years of absence from creative writing I’ve realised I needed a space to come back to it.

I hope to upload a few short stories and excerpts from my personal writings as well. I *might* put up some uni related work that doesn’t fit into my Poet Reflected blog but I’ll try to stay “on topic” as much as possible.

Niall

Thank You All!