To read

I always liked Robert Harbison's line, somewhere in Eccentric Spaces, to the effect that, "catalogues give you the feeling that there are more things in the world than you had remembered." Conferences make me feel the same way. A few days in sunny Galway at The American Conference for Irish Studies certainly made me feel like this. Anyway, some poetry collections I'm now looking forward to reading (or to getting hold of) include Chris Agee's Next to Nothing, Ed Madden's Signals, and Nathalie Anderson's Crawlers. Jefferson Holdridge's critical book on Paul Muldoon is also one for the in-tray. Finally, I'm quite keen to see the special issue of An Sionnach devoted to Paula Meehan.

Galway poetry reading

Tomorrow, I'm taking part in a group poetry reading, in Sheridan's Wine Bar, Galway City. The reading part of a series called 'Over the Edge' and is taking place in collaboration with the American Conference for Irish Studies. It's a chance to catch with old friends, above anything else. It is also good that the conference are promoting a commemorative reading for James Liddy in Kenny's Bookshop (which used to be in the City Centre but is now on the Tuam Road) on Friday.