Trim Poetry Competition 2021

Trim Poetry Competition is now open for entries. Entries close on 30 November 2020.

Competition Rules

Entries are only accepted online by email to this address: trimpoetry@gmail.com

Competitors pay by PayPal on this blog on the right. Entry Fee: €5 per poem or €10 for three poems.

Please type Trim Poetry Competition in the subject line of the email.

The body of the email must include the PayPal transaction number, the entrant's name, address, phone number, and title/titles of the entered poems.

The poem/poems must be attached as a single Word document. The poems should be in Times New Roman, 12 point, single spacing and must not exceed 60 lines (excluding title and stanza breaks). The name of the entrant must not appear on the poems themselves. 

All poems must be the original work of the entrant, written in English. Poems must not have been previously published, self-published, published on a website or broadcast. Entrants must be 18 years or over.

All poems are judged completely anonymously, and judges read all entries. The judges’ decisions are final and no correspondence can be entered into regarding those decisions. Current members of Boyne Writers Group are not eligible to enter.

The prize for the winner is 500 euro.  Two runners-up will receive 100 euro each. 

The judge is Irish poet Jean O'Brien. 

The judges’ shortlist of ten will be announced on 31 Jan 2021and included on this blog. Shortlisted poets only will be notified by email and invited to read their poems, in person or virtually, at a launch on Saturday afternoon 13 March 2021. The prizewinners will be announced at that launch and all the shortlisted poems will be published in Boyne Berries 29 which will be launched then either as a PDF or a paper version. Details of the launch will depend on the position as regarding Covid 19 at that time.

Submission of a poem implies the competitor’s acceptance of the conditions set out above.

Trim Poetry Festival Day 3 - Sunday 7 June 2020

11am: "Tips on How to Sustain a Flourishing Writing Practice" - Clinic by Anne Tannam in which she explores ways to help writers sustain their writing practice. 

Anne Tannam's website

4pm: Anne Tannam launches "Troubles" by Michael Farry. 
Launch of Michael Farry’s new poetry collection, “Troubles” by Anne Tannam. Welcome by the publisher Dominic Taylor of Revival Press followed by a reading from the collection by the author. 

"Troubles" may be purchased on the Revival Press website or on Michael Farry's blog.


6pm: Close of Festival with Some Poet Friends who have had long associations with Boyne Berries, including Carolyne Van Der Meer, Kate Dempsey and Maurice Devitt, reading their poems from the recently published Boyne Berries - The Covid Issue.

Kate Dempsey's The Space Between.

Maurice Devitt's Growing Up in Colour.

Carolyne Van Der Meer's Motherlode, Journeywoman.

8pm: Open Mic on Zoom with Rachel Coventry as MC.

End of Trim Poetry Festival 2020. 
See you all in March 2021!

Trim Poetry Festival : Day 2: Saturday 6 June 2020

10am:  Online workshop by festival poet-in-residence Anne Tannam. 


11.30am: Celebrating Boyne Berries Covers. Slideshows highlighting the striking Boyne Berries magazine covers designed by Greg Hastings (2007-2014) 

and by Rory O'Sullivan (2014-2020).

3pm: Readings by members of local writers groups.

Introduction by Frances Browne, secreatary of Boyne Writers Group.

The Bull’s Arse Group, Navan

Frank Murphy of Meath Writers Circle

LitLab, the Cavan/Meath Writers Group. 

For more information about the latest LitLab anthology, Where You May Find Yourself , edited by Anthony J Quinn (2019), see the group's website here.

5pm: Results of the Trim Poetry Competition 2020

Introduction by judge Orla Fay. Readings by the winner, the runners up and the seven other shortlisted poets. 

7pm: Poetry Reading by Anne Tannam

Anne Tannam is a Dublin poet with two published collections: Tides Shifting Across My Sitting Room Floor (Salmon Poetry 2017) and Take This Life (WordOnTheStreet 2011). Her third, Twenty-six Letters of a New Alphabet, is forthcoming from Salmon Poetry in summer 2020. 

Anne Tannam's website

Anne Tannam's "Tides Shifting Across My Sitting Room Floor"

Trim Poetry Festival - Friday 5 June 2020

Festival Opening and Welcome
by Boyne Writers chair Michael Farry, Welcome to Trim by Noel French, chair of Trim Municipal District and by Trim Tourist Network.

Launch of Boyne Berries 27 
by editor, Orla Fay and readings by contributors Gerard Smyth, Felicity McCarthy, John D Kelly, Lorraine Carey, Peter Goulding and Sinéad MacDevitt.

Readings by contributors Maria Isakova Bennett, Glenn Hubbard, Mark Ward, Elizabeth McGeown, Diarmuid Fitzgerald, Kate Ennals and Kevin Graham.

Readings by contributors Polly Richardson, Richard W Halperin, Peter Adair, Marc Gijsemans, Honor Duff and Anne Callan.

Readings by contributors Orla Fay, Arthur Broomfield, Frances Browne, Eamon Cooke, K S Moore and Linda Ibbotson.

Readings by contributors Liam McNevin and Michael Farry.

Purchase copies of Boyne Berries 27 here.

Trim Poetry Festival Online

Trim Poetry Festival was postponed in March and because it seems very unlikely that there will be an opportunity to hold it later this year we have decided to hold an online version over the week-end of 5-7 June. It will be held as a Facebook event and also published on this blog

Here is the programme. 

Friday 5 June 
6pm Welcome by Noel French, chair of Trim Municipal District, Trim tourism Network, and Boyne Writers Group chair, Michael Farry. 
Launch of Boyne Berries 27 by editor Orla Fay. 
Readings by a number of contributors to Boyne Berries 27. 

Saturday 6 June 
10am Online workshop by festival poet-in-residence Anne Tannam. This free course is now booked out. See the clinic details below which also includes an email address should you wish to inquire about other Anne Tannam workshops.

11.30am Celebrating Boyne Berries Covers. Slideshows highlighting the striking covers designed by Greg Hastings and Rory O'Sullivan for Boyne Berries magazine.

3pm Readings by members of local writers groups including 
Frank Murphy of Meath Writers Circle, Polly Richardson and members of the Bull’s Arse group, Navan and members of LitLab, the Cavan/Meath Writers Group. 

5pm Trim Poetry Competition 2020. 
Introduction by judge Orla Fay. Readings by the winner, the runners up and the shortlisted poets. See results already published in the Trim Poetry Competition Results 2020 page below or at the side.

7pm Poetry Reading by Anne Tannam
Anne Tannam is a Dublin poet with two published collections: Tides Shifting Across My Sitting Room Floor (Salmon Poetry 2017) and Take This Life (WordOnTheStreet 2011). Her third, Twenty-six Letters of a New Alphabet, is forthcoming from Salmon Poetry in summer 2020. 

Sunday 7 June 
11am "Tips on How to Sustain a Flourishing Writing Practice" - Clinic by Anne Tannam.  During this clinic, which will take the form of a pre-recorded video, Anne will explore ways to help writers sustain their writing practice. 

4pm Launch of "Troubles" by Michael Farry. 
Launch of Michael Farry’s new poetry collection, “Troubles” by Anne Tannam. Welcome by the publisher Dominic Taylor of Revival Press. Reading from the collection by the author. 

6pm Some poet friends who have had long associations with Boyne Berries, including Carolyne Van Der Meer, Kate Dempsey and Maurice Devitt, read their poems from the recently published Boyne Berries - The Covid Issue.

8pm Open Mic on Zoom. Rachel Coventry, the MC, will open this fifteen minutes before start and people can register to read on a first come basis. Five minutes each. More details here closer to the time.

Trim Poetry Competition 2020 Results

Unfortunately Trim Poetry Festival 2020 has been postponed and with it the Trim Poetry Competition prize-giving. We hope to run the competition and the prize-giving later in the year. But we are announcing the winner and runners-up and they have received their prizes.

Winner: 
Patrick Lodge, UK for his poem Postcard from Symi

Runners-Up
Maeve McKenna, Sligo for her poem Tree Felling at Lissadell
Matt Hohner, USA for his poem Bearing the Weight of Light

Shortlisted
Bird's Eye View by Catherine Conlon, Kildare.
In the Darkroom by John D Kelly, Fermanagh.
Light Rail by David Butler, Wicklow.
Little Snowdrops by Martin Sykes, Mayo.
Mizpah Ring, Man's, circa 1902 by Maria Isakova Bennett, UK.
Nature Lesson by Marian Brannigan, Louth.
Talking in Pictures by Karen O'Connor, Kerry.

Congratulations to the winner, the runners-up , the shortlisted and all who supported the competition.
Thanks also to judges, Orla Fay and Michael Farry.

Below Patrick Lodge reads his prizewinning poem

Postcard from Symi

On an arid island where every building

appeared to float on a cellar of water

and the sound of summer was the lazy

rhythm of cisterna pumps kicking in,

anything is possible. Such as the two

ranks of people, jittery as the waves

that brought them finally to this sunbaked

quay or will whisk them away for a day. 

Skittish, as if about to start a sousta simiaki

to the music leaking out of a taberna, all wait

for a leader to sort the next sinuous steps.

A bright-eyed policewoman strides forward.

The figure of a snake priestess in a hi-viz,

she opens her arms, seems to grasp the two lines,

keeps them apart, until, one, complaining, shuffles

under the Schengen portal: daybags packed,

passports waving a valedictory curse to the god

of delight deferred. Ahead, the Turquoise Coast,

Marmaris, shopping heaven: silver rings,

leather goods, fake labels, fake everything.

The world’s an unreal cornucopia — those

in the other line may feel that too. Held between

then and now in the grasp of the port police they accept

water, toothpaste, nappies with shy smiles.

“I had a house”, a lady says, answering

a question no-one has asked. She says it again,

unrolls a blanket on the quayside. A punctured

inflatable expires on the rocks below,

rocking in the wash of departing tour boats.

The tide is still coming in.

Patrick Lodge

Festival Postponed

Please note that due to the current health crisis Trim Poetry Festival and all associated events, Boyne Berries launch, Poetry Competition results, launch of "Troubles", workshop etc have been postponed.

Trim Poetry Festival

Trim Poetry Competition Shortlist 2020

Thanks to the 138 poets who entered 345 poems in the 2020 Trim Poetry Competition. Entries came from Ireland, Northern Ireland, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Switzerland, Wales, UK and USA.

The standard was very high and judging difficult. Finally the two judges, Orla Fay and Michael Farry, have announced the shortlist.

These poems will be included in Boyne Berries 27 to be launched on 13 March 2020 at Trim Poetry Festival and the winner and two runners-up will be announced the following evening.

SHORTLIST (in alphabetical order)

Bearing the Weight of Light by Matt Hohner, USA.
Bird's Eye View by Catherine Conlon, Kildare.
In the Darkroom by John D Kelly, Fermanagh.
Light Rail by David Butler, Wicklow.
Little Snowdrops by Martin Sykes, Mayo.
Mizpah Ring, Man's, circa 1902 by Maria Isakova Bennett, UK.
Nature Lesson by Marian Brannigan, Louth.
Postcard from Symi by Patrick Lodge, UK.
Talking in Pictures by Karen O'Connor, Kerry.
Tree Felling at Lissadell by Maeve McKenna, Sligo.

Trim Poetry Festival 2020

Trim Poetry Festival 2020, organized by Boyne Writers Group, will take place on Friday and Saturday,13 and 14 March 2020. A poetry competition is being held in conjunction with the festival. Entries closed on February 12. A shortlist will be posted here towards the end of February 2020.

Programme

Friday 13 March

7.30pm: Launch by Trim writer, Pat Dunne, of Boyne Berries 27 and of Trim Poetry Festival 2020. Readings by contributors.

Tea & Coffee

Reading by Pat Dunne.

Pat Dunne, born in Trim, Co. Meath, is an internationally successful crime writer. Dunne studied English and Philosophy at UCD and worked as Press Officer for Bord na gCapall before joining RTÉ Radio where he produced the station’s flagship Gerry Ryan Show. He retired in 2004 to become a full-time writer. Meath’s history and heritage feature prominently in his archaeological thrillers. Dunne is also a regular contributor to Sunday Miscellany on RTÉ Radio 1 and lives in Celbridge, Co. Kildare, with his wife Theckla.    .

Saturday 14 March

10.00 – 12.30: 
Poetry Workshop with festival poet in residence, Anne Tannam. Cost per person, 20 euro.
Book by PayPal link on the right. 

Anne Tannam is a Dublin poet with two collections: Tides Shifting Across My Sitting Room Floor (Salmon Poetry 2017) and Take This Life (WordOnTheStreet 2011). A spoken word artist, Anne has performed at festivals and events in Ireland and abroad. She is co-founder of the weekly Dublin Writers’ Forum and regularly runs literary events across Dublin. Check her website.

2.30 – 4.30: Anne Tannam individual coaching clinics. These 30 minute sessions will provide support and expert advice around whatever issue or challenge is facing you in your writing practice. Use the Book an Anne Tannam Individual Clinic Session link on the right to book a clinic.  

2.30 – 4.30: Readings by local Writers Groups and Open Mic. 

5.00 – 6.00: Trim Poetry Competition Results. Winner and runners-up announced. First prize €500. Two runners up prizes of €100 each. All shortlisted poets are invited to read.

7.00 – 7.30: Poetry reading by Anne Tannam.

7.30 – 8.00: Tea/Coffee break.

8.00 – 9.30: Launch of “Troubles” a new poetry collection by Boyne Writers member Michael Farry. Launch by Anne Tannam.

Trim Poetry Competition 2020

Competition Rules

This competition closed on 12 February 2020. A shortlist will be published before the end of February.

Entries are only accepted online by email to this address: trimpoetry@gmail.com

Competitors pay by PayPal on this blog on the right. Entry fee: one poem for 5 euro, three poems for 10 euro.

The poem/poems to be entered must be sent as a single attachment. The body of the email must include the PayPal transaction number, the entrant's name, address, phone number, and title/titles of the entered poems.

The poems should be in Times New Roman, 12 point, single spacing and must not exceed 60 lines (excluding title and stanza breaks). The name of the entrant must not appear on the poems themselves. All poems must be the original work of the entrant, written in English. Poems must not have been previously published, self-published or published on a website, or broadcast. Entrants must be 18 years or over.

All poems are judged completely anonymously, and judges read all entries. The judges’ decisions are final and no correspondence can be entered into regarding those decisions. Current members of Boyne Writers Group are not eligible to enter.

The judges are: Orla Fay, editor of Boyne Berries, and Michael Farry, former editor of Boyne Berries.

The judges’ shortlist of ten will be announced towards the end of February 2019 and included on this blog. Shortlisted poets only will be notified by email and invited to read their poems at Trim Poetry Festival, Co. Meath, Ireland, on Saturday afternoon 14 March 2020. 

The prize for the winner is 500 euro.  Two runners-up will recieve 100 euro each. 

The prize-winner of the competition will be announced during the festival. The winner and the other short-listed poems will be published in Boyne Berries 27 which will be launched on Friday 13 March 2020..

Submission of a poem implies the competitor’s acceptance of the conditions set out above.