Eating the Storms – Episode 11 – Season 3

Podcast available on Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Anchor, Breaker, Player FM, Radio Public, OverCast, PocketCast, CastBox, ITunes, Breaker, Podbean and many more platforms.

This episode aired first on Saturday 18th September 2021 and was my way to say thank you to my guests at Eating the Storms, on online event on Friday 17th September 2021 which celebrated the 1st birthday of my pamphlet Eat the Storms . All poems and audio recordings that made up this episode were previously featured on Eat the Storms over the past 3 seasons. The guests were…

Annick Yerem

Annick Yerem is a Scottish/German poet who lives and works in Berlin and has been published by RiverMouthReview, Anti-Heroin-Chic, Rejection Letters, 192, Eat The Storms podcast, Green Ink Poetry, Open Collab and Sledgehammer Lit. She is working on her first chapbook for Hedgehog Poetry Press.

Annick is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/missyerem

Find more about Annick at https://linktr.ee/annickyerem

Aisling Keogh

Aisling Keogh is a writer and psychotherapist, who lives in County Galway. Her work has been published with The Honest Ulsterman, The Irish Independent, Crannog Magazine, Wordlegs, Ropes, Bangor Literary Journal, A New Ulster, and various anthologies. Her first published short story, “How to Save a Life,” was shortlisted for the Hennessy Irish Literary Awards 2011. In her free time Aisling likes to write and sing.

Aisling is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/aislingtkeogh

Lynn Valentine

Lynn Valentine lives on the Black Isle in the Scottish Highlands with a husband, two dogs and a wee puppy. She is working towards her debut poetry collection which will be published by Cinnamon Press in April 2022, after winning their Literature Award. She has a Scots language pamphlet ‘A Glimmer o Stars’ out with Hedgehog Poetry Press, after winning their dialect competition.  She was one of five North poets commissioned by the Scottish Poetry Library in 2020 as part of their Champions project. She was recently awarded runner-up place in the Scots category of the Wigtown Poetry Prize.

Lynn is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/dizzylynn

Find about more about Lynn and buy her pamphlet A Glimmer O’ Stars at https://lynnvalentine.com/shop/

Sarah Connor

Sarah Connor lives in North Devon, England, surrounded by mud and apple trees.  Age and experience have taught her that having fun is more important than being cool. She swims all year round, tends her orchard and reads far too much. Her poems have been published by a number of presses, including Black Bough and Irisi magazine, and most recently Hencroft Hub and Spelt Magazine. 

Sarah is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/sacosw

Find out more about Sarah at https://wordpress.com/view/fmmewritespoems.wordpress.com

She is a regular host of https://dversepoets.com/

Nigel Kent

Nigel Kent is a Pushcart Prize nominated poet (2019 and 2020) and reviewer who lives in rural Worcestershire. He is an active member of the Open University Poetry Society, managing its website and occasionally editing its workshop magazine and was nominated for Reviewer of Literature in the 2020 Saboteur Awards. He has been shortlisted for several national competitions and his poetry has appeared in a wide range of anthologies and magazines. Hedgehog Press have published four of his works: his poetry conversations with Sarah Thomson, Thinking You Home and A Hostile Environment (2018); his first collection, Saudade (2019); his pamphlet, Psychopathogen (2020); and in October will publish, Unmuted, his collection of ekphrastic poems.

Nigel is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/kent_nj

Find out more about Nigel at his website: www.nigelkentpoet.wordpress.com

Anna Saunders

Anna Saunders has been described as ‘a poet who surely can do anything,’ by The North, ‘a modern myth maker,’ by Paul Stephenson and Tears in the Fence said of her ‘Anna Saunders’ poetry is reminiscent of Plath with all its alpha achievement and radiance.’ She is the author of Communion (Wild Conversations Press), Struck (Pindrop Press), Kissing the She Bear (Wild Conversations Press), Burne Jones and the Fox (Indigo dreams) and Ghosting for Beginners (Indigo dreams.) Anna’s new book is Feverfew (Indigo dreams). This collection has been described as ‘rich with obsession, sensuousness and potency’ by Ben Ray and as ‘a beautiful and necessary collection,’ by Penny Shuttle. She is also the Executive Director of Cheltenham Poetry Festival and works as a creative writing tutor and mentor, communications specialist, journalist, broadcaster and copyright/editor.

Anna is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/AnnaSaund1

Find out more about Anna at her website – https://annasaunderswriter.co.uk/

Find out more about Cheltenham Poetry Festival at https://cheltenhampoetryfestival.co.uk/

Julie Stevens

Julie Stevens writes poems sometimes reflecting the impact Multiple Sclerosis (MS) has on her life. Her winning Stickleback pamphlet Balancing Act was recently published by Hedgehog Poetry Press (June 2021) and her debut chapbook Quicksand by Dreich (Sept 2020). 

Julie is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/JulesJumping

Find out more about Julie at her website: www.jumpingjulespoetry.com

Vicky Allen

Vicky Allen lives on the south-east coast of Scotland. Her debut poetry pamphlet is “Broken Things and other tales” (Hedgehog Poetry Press, 2020). She’s been published in print & online in Mslexia, Stravaig, Bonnie’s Crew, Writers Cafe, Fevers of the Mind & others, & in anthologies by Wild Goose Publications, Black Agnes Press, Dove Tales & Proost. She also recently won the Hedgehog Poetry Press annual Cupid’s Arrow competition.

Vicky is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/bringonthejoy

Sue Finch

Sue Finch lives with her wife in North Wales. Her debut collection, ‘Magnifying Glass’, was published in October 2020 with Black Eyes Publishing, UK. She loves peculiar things and the scent of ice-cream freezers. She often drinks tea and eats cake while listening to Eat the Storms on Saturday afternoons.

Sue is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/soopoftheday

You can buy signed copies of Sue’s poetry collection Magnifying Glass at payhip.com/SueFinch and if you use the code EATTHESTORMS this will generate a discount. It is also available on Amazon.

Roger Hare

Roger Hare is a poet sniffing-out inspirations in Herefordshire and beyond and has been fortunate to be included in many online and in-print anthologies and journals. He is deeply grateful to the many, like Damien, Matthew M Smith, the Cheltenham Poetry Festival crew and others who make opportunities to keep writers connected and give outlet for their work. No pamphlet yet, but still hoping!!!

Roger is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/RogerHare6

Eilín de Paor

Eilín de Paor lives in Dublin and works in health and social care. Her poems have appeared in Vox Galvia, Ink, Sweat and Tears, The Stony Thursday Book, The Bangor Literary Journal, Abridged and Dreich, with others upcoming in An Capall Dorcha and The Broken Spine Artist Collective. Her debut collaborative pamphlet “In the Jitterfritz of Neon”, written together with Damien B. Donnelly, will shortly be published by The Hedgehog Poetry Press.

Eilín is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/edepaor

Giovanna MacKenna

Giovanna MacKenna can be found looking at the black bits of life and finding ways to make them shine. She’s been recently published by iamb, the Scottish Writer’s Centre, Abridged, Dreich, SouthChild Lit, Brag, Tether’s End and The Speculative Book 2021. She is currently working with The Museum of Loss and Renewal Publishing on her first full collection.

Giovanna is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/giovmacpoet

You can find out More about Giovanna at www.giovannamackenna.com 

Ruairí de Barra

Ruairí de Barra is from Co. Mayo and now resides in Co. Cork. He is a sailor, an award-winning military journalist, and a poet. His creative work has featured with Tinteán, A New Ulster, Live Encounters, Bangor Literary Journal, The Ranthology Anthology, Black Bough Poetry, The Boston Globe, Boston Accent, Poetry Jukebox, The Silence Anthology, The Cobh Chronicle, Eat the Storms Podcast.

Ruairí is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/r_debarra

Find out more about him and his work at www.paperneverefusedink.com

Barbara Mercer

Barbara Mercer co-produces Flight of the Dragonfly Spoken Word with Darren J Beaney who she met whilst they were both studying for Masters in Creative Writing at the University of Brighton. They also edit a quarterly journal called Flights. Barbara writes poetry and prose and is writing a novel which will be semi-autobiographical magical realism, and if this isn’t a genre yet, well it soon will be. Barbara lives in the heart of beautiful county of Sussex.

Barbara is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/BKirbyshaw

Find out more about Barbara at her blog https://walnuttreewriting.home.blog/

Find out more about Flight of the Dragonfly at https://flightofthedragonfly.com/

Karen Mooney

Karen Mooney: A career in human resource management provided preparation for Karen’s current activities; cats and words.  Sometimes they hide, reappearing unexpectedly; sometimes they scratch, sometimes they purr.  Her words have appeared in online publications and Penned In, co-written with Gaynor Kane published by The Hedgehog Poetry Press. Her own pamphlet is due to be published later this year by The Hedgehog Poetry Press.

Karen is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/1karenmooney

Follow Karen on Facebook at : observationsbykaren

Jude Marr

Jude Marr is a Pushcart-nominated nonbinary poet who writes to survive. Jude’s first full-length collection, We Know Each Other By Our Wounds, came out from Animal Heart Press in 2020 and they also have a chapbook, Breakfast for the Birds, from Finishing Line Press in 2017. A native Scot, Jude is now living in Herefordshire after 10 years in the US, and looking forward to making more friends in the UK poetry community. Just was one of the finalists in the Black Bough Micro-poetry Christmas- Winter Competition

Jude is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/JudeMarr1

You can find Jude’s collection We Know Each Other by Our Wounds at Animal Heart – https://animalheartpress.net/purchase-we-know-each-other-by-our-wounds/

Darren J Beaney

Darren J Beaney is one half of Flight of the Dragonfly who host regular spoken word events on Zoom and also publish Flights a quarterly e-journal of poetry, flash and prose. He hosts two poetry clubs for Home-Stage and has recently joined the team at Sledgehammer Lit as Special Projects Editor. He has had the pleasure of appearing on the Eat the Storms three times and has somehow managed to have poems published in 17 different anthologies and journals. He has also had two pamphlets published by The Hedgehog Poetry Press and has a full collection due in December 2021.

Darren is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DJ_Be_An

Find out more about Darren on his website – www.djbeaney.com

Find Darren’s pamphlets at –  www.ko-fi.com/darrenjbeaney

Cathy Carson

Cathy Carson is a cancer nurse, a counsellor and a spoken word performer from Northern Ireland . Her work focuses on the human condition and connection.
She has been published in anthologies and performed at festivals, open mic events, for television and radio. She has also been featured on podcasts and commissioned by charities .

Cathy is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ourweekathy73

Matthew MC Smith

Matthew M C Smith is a Welsh poet from Swansea. He’s ‘Best of the Net’ nominated and has work in Icefloe Press, The Lonely Crowd, Finished Creatures and Green Ink. Matthew is also the editor of Black Bough poetry.

Matt is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MatthewMCSmith

Find out more about Black Bough at https://www.blackboughpoetry.com/

His pamphlet Origins: 21 Poems is available on Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/Origin-Poems-Matthew-M-Smith/dp/1980305757

Gaynor Kane

Gaynor Kane is the author of the pamphlet Memory Forest, a Stickleback micro collection and her full collection Venus in Pink Marble, all published by The Hedgehog Poetry Press. She likes eating, storms and parties. Tonight she is in her element! 

Gaynor is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/gaynorkane

Find out more about Gaynor and buying her collections check out her website https://gaynorkane.com/

Damien B Donnelly, Producer, Host and Poet

Damien B Donnelly returned to Ireland in 2019 after 23 years in Paris, London and Amsterdam, working in the fashion industry as a pattern maker for various brands including Calvin Klein, & Other Stories, Pepe Jeans, Reiss and G-Star. His writing focuses on identity, fragility and connection. His interests revolve around falling over and learning how to get back up while baking delicious cakes. His work had been published in numerous journals online and in print including Black Bough Poetry, Barren Magazine, Anti Hereon Chic, Icefloe Press and The Bangor Literary Journal. His debut poetry pamphlet Eat the Storms, which was featured on the Poetry Book Society Winter List 2020/21 and his Stickleback micro collection Considering Canvases with Boys were both published by The Hedgehog Poetry Press. His next collection with be a conversation pamphlet he co-wrote with fellow Irish poet Eilín de Paor called In the Jitterfritz of Neon. He is currently finishing his first full collection documenting his love affair with Paris called Enough!

He is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/deuxiemepeau and instagram at @damiboy

You can follow him and buy his Eat the Storms debut pamphlet and his Stickleback micro collection at is website https://deuxiemepeaupoetry.com/

Backing music for Eat the Storms is from Purple Planet Royalty Free Music, with thanks…

https://www.purple-planet.com/

You can find us on many platforms including Spotify and here is the link…