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The 10th episode of Season 8 will air on Saturday 20th April 2024. It is produced and hosted by Damien B. Donnelly. This bumper episode was all about young voices starting out, new voices to the podcast and spoken word artists. Below are details and links to the guest stars…
Mischa McCarthy
Mischa McCarthy is a 16 years old transition year student in Killarney Community College. She has been writing poetry for about three years, and is looking forward to sharing more of it!
Dylan Franklin
Dylan Franklin’s poetry as well as some short story’s are so far mostly kept in his own personal private collection, though as of late you can find numerous poems and works as well as a small dedicated following on his instagram page Red.Is.The.Word, he intends to expand his reach in the coming years hoping to publish his book of poetry and short story’s “ Handwriting “ within the next 3 years.
Follow Dylan on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/red.is.the.word/
Zita McGarry
Zita McGarry, a native of Longford , educated in the Mercy convent boarding school, Zita went on to study Hotel Management in Switzerland in the 90’s. Now having left the life of a hotelier behind and raised a family with her husband in Sallins Co. Kildare , she has turned fully towards the arts. Zita held her first solo exhibition of paintings just over twenty years ago. Throughout his time, this artist has been writing poems to mark the milestones, and sometimes to simply rest between paintings. In her artwork, as in her poetry and prose, she creates dense, richly textured surfaces manipulating materials (artists gel and modeling pasts) through etching, carving and lively pen and brushstroke. These elements combine with colour washes and muted tones to create a striking balance between abstract expression and control. As with her poetry it is a process of reduction, isolating the essential ingredients of the subject, distilling it down and building the image around it. Zita is currently working on a collection of poetry.
Find out more about Zita at https://zitamcgarry.com/
Anna D
Anna D is a poet and singer/songwriter from Dublin. She is the winner of the All-Ireland Poetry Slam 2023 and a member of Poetry Kiln collective. Anna has an interest in the interplay between emotions and patterAnna D is a poet and singer/songwriter from Dublin. She is the winner of the All-Ireland Poetry Slam 2023 and a member of Poetry Kiln collective. Anna has an interest in the interplay between emotions and patterns of behaviour, family and collective trauma and the impact of oppressive systems on how we relate to each other and the world today. She is a mother, a teacher and a dramatherapist with a passion for inclusion, educational reform and social justice. Her poems are raw, honest and relatable portrayals of her experience of the human condition in all its grime and glory.ns of behaviour, family and collective trauma and the impact of oppressive systems on how we relate to each other and the world today. She is a mother, a teacher and a dramatherapist with a passion for inclusion, educational reform and social justice. Her poems are raw, honest and relatable portrayals of her experience of the human condition in all its grime and glory.
The recording features two spoken word pieces from her ‘Soul Rebellion’ collection. The first piece ‘Matrescence’ won her the title of All-Ireland Poetry Slam Champion in December 2023. The poem is about the struggle of early motherhood. The word ‘matrescence’ is used to describe the complex process of physical, emotional, hormonal and social change a woman goes through on becoming a mother. The process can smash a woman’s identity to pieces. As she learns to support a new life, so too must she support her new confused, conflicted and frustrated self, much of the time in isolation.The poem explores this loss of identity and cutting off from one’s self and others. The second poem is titled ‘For Joy’. It is about addiction. A personal account of facing problems head on through attending a treatment centre and a general reflection on how our society of instant gratification, disconnection and self-sacrifice perpetuates our reliance on unhealthy patterns of behaviour to support and sustain ourselves.
Follow Anna D on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/annad.poetry/
Bill Roberts
Bill Roberts a British/Irish poet, performer and printmaker originally from the UK, but currently living in Berlin. He recently had his first poem Daffodils published in The London Magazine. Bill has recently performed his poetry in Poland as part of The Palace Collective Residency (https://www.thepalacecollective.org/) and in multiple venues in Berlin, particularly writing poetic texts for his performance collective Organized Chaos. Bill’s work often centres queer and gay experiences, intimacy and connection.
Find out more about Bill at https://www.bilboroberts.com/
Rafael Mendes
Rafael Mendes is a Brazilian migrant based in Ireland. His work has recently appeared in Skylight 47, Poet Lore, and The Trumpet. He has been selected for Poetry Ireland’s 2023 Introduction Series and was awarded the Irish Writers Centre/Tyrone Guthrie Centre Lacuna Bursary 2024.
Follow Gustav on Twitter / X at https://twitter.com/rafaelmendes341
Sheila Ryder
Sheila Ryder is a poet and dramatist from Dublin. She has written for stage and screen but over the last 4 years has become known for her poetry and spoken word. She was a winner at the Cuirt International festival in 2018 and an All-Ireland Poetry Slam finalist in 2019. She is a regular on The Word stage at Electric Picnic and has been a featured poet at the Fingal Poetry Festival for the past three years. Her writing has been published in print and online and she is currently working on her first poetry pamphlet ‘Escape’.
Follow Sheila on Twitter X at https://twitter.com/SheilaRyder
Find out more about Sheila at https://sheilaryder.com/
For all things Fingal Poetry Festival check out https://fingalpoetryfestival.com/
or follow them on https://twitter.com/FingalPoetry
#WeFeedTheUK HotPoets and Gaia Foundation
Featured guests
We Feed The UK is a poetry and photography series celebrating regenerative food production in the UK. The project has paired up ten poets with ten farmers in ten regions of the UK to tell the story of a better way of growing food – one that brings together communities and protects and restores nature.
From multi-generational, Black-led growing projects in London, to a majority-women workers cooperative in Edinburgh, via an exploration of sustainable fishing on the South Coast, there are stories to inspire change from every corner of the UK. Commissioned by the Hot Poets, acclaimed poets including Kate Fox, Testament, Dizraeli, Abby Oliveira, Testament, Zena Edwards, and the recent Forward Prize-winning Bohdan Piasecki have all brought their distinct voices to the mix.
Abby Oliveira is a writer, performer, lyricist, and theatre maker based in Derry in the North or Ireland.For the past few years she has been doing a lot of collaborative work in her capacity as a spoken-word poet; working with musicians, photographers, street theatre companies, acrobats, and actors. She has performed regularly at events and festivals throughout the UK, Ireland and abroad and has toured work internationally via support from Arts Council NI. She has had work commissioned by BBC Radio 4 and Foyle, RTE radio, and more.
Follow Abby on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/abbyoliveirawriter/
Chris Redmond is a writer, musician and multi-artform facilitator. Co-Artistic Director of Hot Poets, founder of Tongue Fu, his career spans thirty years, working in twenty countries on five continents, with collaborators including Kae Tempest, Lemn Sissay, Irvine Welsh and Hollie McNish. Chris contributes to the UNFCCC’s Resilience Frontiers and facilitates processes in creativity, performance and leadership, in universities and with clients such as The British Council, BBC and The Southbank. His poetry and music has featured on BBC Radio 1-6, ITV, Sky Arts, CBBC, in The Guardian and Independent. In 2023 he was shortlisted for the Outspoken Prize and on the judging panel for the Forward Prize.
Follow Chris on Twitter / X at https://twitter.com/Chris_Redmond_
Iona Lee is a poet, artist, music-maker, storyteller and spoken-word performer from Edinburgh. A leading light of Scotland’s live poetry scene for the past ten years, appearing on radio and television and reading her work in venues and on festival stages all over the UK and Europe, including Glastonbury, the world slam championships in Paris, and the Edinburgh International Book Festival. She is the front woman of the poetry-psyche ensemble, Acolyte, whose debut single, the Black Cat, was BBC Radio Scotland’s single of the week. In 2022, Iona won the John Byrne award for her poetry film, Away with the Fairies – a retelling of the Tam Lin ballad – and she appeared on Young Woman Scotland’s 30 Under 30 list. Her debut poetry collection, Anamnesis, was shortlisted for the Edwin Morgan Poetry Award.
Follow Iona on Twitter / X at https://twitter.com/IonaLeepoetry
Ifor ap Glyn is a Welsh language writer and performer and has worked as a presenter, writer and producer for television and radio (BBC). A two time winner of the Crown for poetry at the National Eisteddfod (1999 and 2013), he has been Bardd Plant Cymru (Children’s Poet for Wales) and between 2016-22 was Bardd Cenedlaethol Cymru/ National Poet of Wales. He has published six volumes of poetry, contributed to many anthologies and has authored several books on Welsh history. Ifor was chosen to appear at the opening of the Senedd in Cardiff along with Tom Jones and Shirley Bassey. His poetry shows include Lliwiau Rhyddid (The Colours of Freedom) and Y Gadair Wag (The Empty Chair). He has performed around the world from China to Cameroon and his work has been translated into over 20 languages.
Follow Ofor on Twitter / X at https://twitter.com/iforapglyn
Testament is an acclaimed poet, rapper, playwright and record holding beatboxer. His work includes the spoken word theatre show Orpheus In The Record Shop which was broadcast on BBC Television, poetry performances for radio and television and the celebrated play Black Men Walking (nominated for Best Play at The Writers Guild Awards 2019 & Best New Play at the UK Theatre Awards 2020). More recently, his spoken word/beatbox radio play Daughter received a Special Commendation and a nomination for Best Drama at the BBC Audio Drama Awards 2023. Testament was Channel 4 writer-in-residence at Royal Exchange Theatre Manchester in 2019. Testament’s work has been published in several anthologies and used as a teaching resource internationally at several schools and universities.
Follow Testament on Twitter / X at https://twitter.com/testamentonline
Full #WeFeedTheUK #HotPoets playlist on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFRwIcL5SdJGEoF2nQuauPQiur3DccQki
Damien B Donnelly, Producer, Host and Poet
Damien B Donnelly is a 48-year-old Irish, adopted, queer writer and podcast producer who spent 23 years living in Paris, Amsterdam, and London working in the fashion industry, returning to Dublin at the end of 2020. He is the host and producer of the poetry podcast Eat the Storms and the editor-in-chief of The Storms, a journal of poetry, prose and visual art. His debut pamphlet, Eat the Storms, published by The Hedgehog Poetry Press, nominated for a Pushcart Prize and featured on the Poetry Book Society Winter List 2020/21, followed by a Pushcart Prize nominated Stickleback (micro collection) and In the Jitterfritz of Neon, a conversational pamphlet co-written with Eilín de Paor. His first full collection Enough! was published by Hedgehog in August 2022. His poetry and short stories have appeared in numerous journals, both online and in print. His 2nd full collection Back from Away arrives on the 8th May 2024 with Turas Press
The Storms journal is available at https://eatthestorms.com/the-storm-shop/
He is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/deuxiemepeau and instagram at both @damiboy and @weshallalwayshaveparis
You can purchase his pamphlets and collections at his 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…
Storm Shelter 