Karen J McDonnell
@karenjmcdonnell.bsky.social
Poet | Writer | Broadcaster | Bookish | West of Ireland | This Little World, TIDAL, (Doire Press) | Irish Poem of the Year shortlist | artscouncil.ie award | karenjmcdonnell.com
Reposted by Karen J McDonnell
€18,850.......
Friends, this is my last day online for a few weeks.
I do it every year, does wonders for the calm over the break. But I have things I want you to know about.
My Xmas Appeal in aid of three amazing charities is €1,405 shy of the €20,000 target I set.
Little help?
www.idonate.ie/fundraiser/r...
I do it every year, does wonders for the calm over the break. But I have things I want you to know about.
My Xmas Appeal in aid of three amazing charities is €1,405 shy of the €20,000 target I set.
Little help?
www.idonate.ie/fundraiser/r...
Support The Rick O'Shea Book Club Xmas Appeal on iDonate.ie
The Rick O'Shea Book Club Xmas Appeal 2025 for DSPCA, My Lovely Horse Rescue and Children's Books Ireland, created by Rick O'Shea | iDonate.ie
www.idonate.ie
December 19, 2025 at 4:54 PM
€18,850.......
Maeve's workshops are great.
Treat yourself. It's Christmas!
Treat yourself. It's Christmas!
A number of bookings have been made for this workshop but there are still some places available…
Announcing my upcoming online workshop in #haiku and related forms @irishwriterscentre.bsky.social. It will run (in the evenings) for four weeks from Monday 12th January. All likes / shares / mentions much appreciated! 🙏🏻 irishwriterscentre.ie/courses/japa...
December 19, 2025 at 8:35 PM
Maeve's workshops are great.
Treat yourself. It's Christmas!
Treat yourself. It's Christmas!
Reposted by Karen J McDonnell
Day Ten of our #TwelveDaysOfChristmas WCLF2026 reveals. Thanks to our partners Ambassade de France en Irlande/Embassy of France in Ireland, French author Nolwenn Le Blevennec @nleblevennec.bsky.social is coming to West Cork. Her novel Friends and Lovers is translated into English by Madeleine Rogers
December 17, 2025 at 8:33 AM
Day Ten of our #TwelveDaysOfChristmas WCLF2026 reveals. Thanks to our partners Ambassade de France en Irlande/Embassy of France in Ireland, French author Nolwenn Le Blevennec @nleblevennec.bsky.social is coming to West Cork. Her novel Friends and Lovers is translated into English by Madeleine Rogers
Reposted by Karen J McDonnell
"A surreal / experimental edge perforates these poems [...] A refreshing and energetic book."
— Mícheál McCann, Irish Times
@karenjmcdonnell.bsky.social's Tidal is available here:
www.doirepress.com/books/poetry...
#poem #poetry #poetrycommunity #literature #irish
— Mícheál McCann, Irish Times
@karenjmcdonnell.bsky.social's Tidal is available here:
www.doirepress.com/books/poetry...
#poem #poetry #poetrycommunity #literature #irish
October 22, 2025 at 4:02 PM
"A surreal / experimental edge perforates these poems [...] A refreshing and energetic book."
— Mícheál McCann, Irish Times
@karenjmcdonnell.bsky.social's Tidal is available here:
www.doirepress.com/books/poetry...
#poem #poetry #poetrycommunity #literature #irish
— Mícheál McCann, Irish Times
@karenjmcdonnell.bsky.social's Tidal is available here:
www.doirepress.com/books/poetry...
#poem #poetry #poetrycommunity #literature #irish
Reposted by Karen J McDonnell
This averages out at a violation roughly every four hours, around the clock, continuously since 10 October. At what point do we stop calling it a ceasefire when Israel has just literally not ceased firing
October 19, 2025 at 5:09 PM
This averages out at a violation roughly every four hours, around the clock, continuously since 10 October. At what point do we stop calling it a ceasefire when Israel has just literally not ceased firing
Barely awake after a couple of hectic days in Capital City, and this lovely thing happens!
My thanks to Mícheál McCann for his reading of the poems in TIDAL and his review in today's Irish Times.
I am a happy lapin. @doirepress.bsky.social
#thiswriterslife #newcollection #tidal #poetry
My thanks to Mícheál McCann for his reading of the poems in TIDAL and his review in today's Irish Times.
I am a happy lapin. @doirepress.bsky.social
#thiswriterslife #newcollection #tidal #poetry
October 18, 2025 at 11:20 AM
Barely awake after a couple of hectic days in Capital City, and this lovely thing happens!
My thanks to Mícheál McCann for his reading of the poems in TIDAL and his review in today's Irish Times.
I am a happy lapin. @doirepress.bsky.social
#thiswriterslife #newcollection #tidal #poetry
My thanks to Mícheál McCann for his reading of the poems in TIDAL and his review in today's Irish Times.
I am a happy lapin. @doirepress.bsky.social
#thiswriterslife #newcollection #tidal #poetry
This is typical of government departments not doing their jobs. Access was denied by Coillte, yet there was trespassing and after that, environmental destruction.
The Gardai should have been alerted the minute that machinery appeared.
The Gardai should have been alerted the minute that machinery appeared.
Mindless environmental crimes happening daily #Spéirghorm - native trees hundreds of years old felled - used access through State agency Coillte www.thejournal.ie/cork-tree-fe... forget Dept of Agriculture - gardai should be informed. @antaisce.bsky.social
Investigation after more than 30 acres of native trees - some centuries old - felled in Co Cork
The Department of Agriculture has been formally alerted to the incident by the National Parks and Wildlife Service.
www.thejournal.ie
October 12, 2025 at 4:06 PM
This is typical of government departments not doing their jobs. Access was denied by Coillte, yet there was trespassing and after that, environmental destruction.
The Gardai should have been alerted the minute that machinery appeared.
The Gardai should have been alerted the minute that machinery appeared.
Reposted by Karen J McDonnell
New Louise Kennedy novel out next year.
Books newsletter: a wrap of the latest news and preview of tomorrow’s pages
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
Books newsletter: a wrap of the latest news and preview of tomorrow’s pages
www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
New Louise Kennedy novel out next year
Books newsletter: a wrap of the latest news and preview of tomorrow’s pages
www.irishtimes.com
October 11, 2025 at 5:50 AM
Reposted by Karen J McDonnell
Please read this excellent article about the dramatic rise of costs in publishing by a truly great indie press. When you buy a book, 'you are buying a stake in the survival of our world of letters'.
An article on the pressures on publishing, rising costs, what can be done about it - and how readers can also help.
open.substack.com/pub/samj/p/w...
(This ran in the Society of Authors quarterly, The Author, earlier this year. They've kindly given me permission to reproduce it on my Substack.)
open.substack.com/pub/samj/p/w...
(This ran in the Society of Authors quarterly, The Author, earlier this year. They've kindly given me permission to reproduce it on my Substack.)
What does it cost to produce a book?
Why small presses in the UK are struggling - and what can be done about it.
open.substack.com
September 25, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Please read this excellent article about the dramatic rise of costs in publishing by a truly great indie press. When you buy a book, 'you are buying a stake in the survival of our world of letters'.
Reposted by Karen J McDonnell
Thanks very much to the Poetry Book Society for recommending The Hare's Corner- illustrated poetry & prose inspired by individuals & groups all over Ireland making space for nature. @newislandbooks.bsky.social & @burrenbeotrust.bsky.social
www.poetrybooks.co.uk/products/the...
www.poetrybooks.co.uk/products/the...
The Hare's Corner - The Poetry Book Society
The Hare’s Corner celebrates farmers, families, schools and community groups all over Ireland who are restoring habitats, reviving biodiversity and reconnecting people with the land. Uplifting stories...
www.poetrybooks.co.uk
September 23, 2025 at 10:03 AM
Thanks very much to the Poetry Book Society for recommending The Hare's Corner- illustrated poetry & prose inspired by individuals & groups all over Ireland making space for nature. @newislandbooks.bsky.social & @burrenbeotrust.bsky.social
www.poetrybooks.co.uk/products/the...
www.poetrybooks.co.uk/products/the...
Reposted by Karen J McDonnell
We ❤️ our poetry tech installations at the SPL and we're chuffed to announce The Poetry Jukebox is coming! To be installed outside SPL and launched with an event on 4 Dec featuring:
🔊 Kathleen Jamie
🔊 Peter Mackay
🔊 Angeline King
🔊 Stephen Dornan
🔊 Maria McManus
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/poetry-juk...
🔊 Kathleen Jamie
🔊 Peter Mackay
🔊 Angeline King
🔊 Stephen Dornan
🔊 Maria McManus
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/poetry-juk...
Poetry Jukebox Launch: Fragments of Scotch Poetry
To mark the installation of the poetry jukebox we present four poets involved in the Linen Hall Library' Fragments of Scotch Poetry project
www.eventbrite.co.uk
September 23, 2025 at 11:00 AM
We ❤️ our poetry tech installations at the SPL and we're chuffed to announce The Poetry Jukebox is coming! To be installed outside SPL and launched with an event on 4 Dec featuring:
🔊 Kathleen Jamie
🔊 Peter Mackay
🔊 Angeline King
🔊 Stephen Dornan
🔊 Maria McManus
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/poetry-juk...
🔊 Kathleen Jamie
🔊 Peter Mackay
🔊 Angeline King
🔊 Stephen Dornan
🔊 Maria McManus
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/poetry-juk...
Thanks to everyone for a mighty launch day in Ennis, and to Clare Libraries for the fab venue. Kate Ennals gave us a lovely launch speech.
Copies of TIDAL are available from Doire Press www.doirepress.com/books/poetry...
Copies of TIDAL are available from Doire Press www.doirepress.com/books/poetry...
September 22, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Thanks to everyone for a mighty launch day in Ennis, and to Clare Libraries for the fab venue. Kate Ennals gave us a lovely launch speech.
Copies of TIDAL are available from Doire Press www.doirepress.com/books/poetry...
Copies of TIDAL are available from Doire Press www.doirepress.com/books/poetry...
Reposted by Karen J McDonnell
Big thanks to all the lovely people who came out on Saturday to help us celebrate the launch of TIDAL by @karenjmcdonnell.bsky.social
www.doirepress.com/books/poetry...
www.doirepress.com/books/poetry...
Tidal - Doire Press
Tidal is the second poetry collection by west of Ireland poet Karen J McDonnell. Her poems explore the tropes and roles we impose on memory and history: what we commemorate, what we choose to remember...
www.doirepress.com
September 22, 2025 at 12:02 PM
Big thanks to all the lovely people who came out on Saturday to help us celebrate the launch of TIDAL by @karenjmcdonnell.bsky.social
www.doirepress.com/books/poetry...
www.doirepress.com/books/poetry...
So Starmer and his mates have recognised #Palestine as a sovereign state, but they're not stopping the sale of arms to the Israelis who are determined to bomb it out of existence.
a woman in a judge 's robe is sitting in a courtroom in front of an american flag .
ALT: a woman in a judge 's robe is sitting in a courtroom in front of an american flag .
media.tenor.com
September 21, 2025 at 9:12 PM
So Starmer and his mates have recognised #Palestine as a sovereign state, but they're not stopping the sale of arms to the Israelis who are determined to bomb it out of existence.
Reposted by Karen J McDonnell
Here's our @karenjmcdonnell.bsky.social chatting about all things TIDAL on @clarefmradio.bsky.social
www.clare.fm/podcasts/cla...
www.clare.fm/podcasts/cla...
Clare Poet On Launch Of The TIDAL Poetry Collection - Clare FM
Clare Poet On Launch Of The TIDAL Poetry Collection - Podcasts % Clare FM
www.clare.fm
September 18, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Here's our @karenjmcdonnell.bsky.social chatting about all things TIDAL on @clarefmradio.bsky.social
www.clare.fm/podcasts/cla...
www.clare.fm/podcasts/cla...
All the President's Men is one of my favourite films. Still relevant. My mushy heart can never have enough of Out of Africa and The Navral. And Ordinary People & Quiz Show are two more - so beautifully directed.
Add in the Sundance Festival & his environmental work - yes, Redford made his mark.
😢
Add in the Sundance Festival & his environmental work - yes, Redford made his mark.
😢
Breaking news: Robert Redford, an actor whose looks and subtle magnetism in films made him one of the biggest movie stars of all time, but who also forged a legacy in cinema as a patron saint of American independent film, died Sept. 16. He was 89.
Robert Redford, movie star and Sundance founder, dies at 89
He won a massive following with “Butch Cassidy” and “All the President’s Men.” Through the Sundance Institute, he became a patron saint of independent film.
www.washingtonpost.com
September 16, 2025 at 1:00 PM
All the President's Men is one of my favourite films. Still relevant. My mushy heart can never have enough of Out of Africa and The Navral. And Ordinary People & Quiz Show are two more - so beautifully directed.
Add in the Sundance Festival & his environmental work - yes, Redford made his mark.
😢
Add in the Sundance Festival & his environmental work - yes, Redford made his mark.
😢
Reposted by Karen J McDonnell
BREAKING: ICE is sending Russian dissidents back to Russia. When the dissidents arrived in Russia, the Russian authorities were given documents relating to their asylum applications in the US which under US law are confidential. This seems to be part of a secret agreement between Trump and Putin.
‘I escaped a Russian prison — only to end up in an American jail’
Dozens of Russian dissidents have been expelled from the US and forcibly returned to Russia with the co-operation of immigration authorities
www.thetimes.com
September 6, 2025 at 10:52 PM
BREAKING: ICE is sending Russian dissidents back to Russia. When the dissidents arrived in Russia, the Russian authorities were given documents relating to their asylum applications in the US which under US law are confidential. This seems to be part of a secret agreement between Trump and Putin.
Reposted by Karen J McDonnell
Imagine writing a series of bestselling books as an independently successful woman at the turn of the 20th century, and then aged 36 your fiancé uses the plot lines from one of your novels to kill you for your inheritance… The Fly on the Wheel by Katherine Cecil Thurston - read it and weep #booksky
September 7, 2025 at 9:13 AM
Imagine writing a series of bestselling books as an independently successful woman at the turn of the 20th century, and then aged 36 your fiancé uses the plot lines from one of your novels to kill you for your inheritance… The Fly on the Wheel by Katherine Cecil Thurston - read it and weep #booksky
Reposted by Karen J McDonnell
This Sunday at 5pm our @jenniferhorgan.bsky.social and @karenjmcdonnell.bsky.social will be reading at the fab Shorelines Festival
www.shorelinesartsfestival.com/uploads/4/9/...
www.shorelinesartsfestival.com/uploads/4/9/...
www.shorelinesartsfestival.com
September 5, 2025 at 11:33 AM
This Sunday at 5pm our @jenniferhorgan.bsky.social and @karenjmcdonnell.bsky.social will be reading at the fab Shorelines Festival
www.shorelinesartsfestival.com/uploads/4/9/...
www.shorelinesartsfestival.com/uploads/4/9/...
Please contact @simonharrisireland.bsky.social and other members of the government - call for support and the guarantee of safe passage for #globalsumudflotilla
www.facebook.com/share/r/1CPM...
www.facebook.com/share/r/1CPM...
Redirecting...
www.facebook.com
September 6, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Please contact @simonharrisireland.bsky.social and other members of the government - call for support and the guarantee of safe passage for #globalsumudflotilla
www.facebook.com/share/r/1CPM...
www.facebook.com/share/r/1CPM...
Reposted by Karen J McDonnell
Laughing out loud at the brilliant Paul Durcan, in prep for ekphrasis class tomorrow. He’s so good it ‘s hard to choose. Want class to read them all! 🖼️📚💚
November 27, 2024 at 10:25 PM
Laughing out loud at the brilliant Paul Durcan, in prep for ekphrasis class tomorrow. He’s so good it ‘s hard to choose. Want class to read them all! 🖼️📚💚
#thiswriterslife #poetry #newcollection with @doirepress.bsky.social
TIDAL – incoming! – Karen J McDonnell share.google/vfWlqOjanRta...
TIDAL – incoming! – Karen J McDonnell share.google/vfWlqOjanRta...
TIDAL – incoming!
My new poetry collection from Doire Press is available to pre-order from this link Now that they’re out in the world, I have to say – I’m rather proud of the new ‘childer…
share.google
September 2, 2025 at 8:13 PM
#thiswriterslife #poetry #newcollection with @doirepress.bsky.social
TIDAL – incoming! – Karen J McDonnell share.google/vfWlqOjanRta...
TIDAL – incoming! – Karen J McDonnell share.google/vfWlqOjanRta...
Reposted by Karen J McDonnell
This Sunday join our @karenjmcdonnell.bsky.social and @jenniferhorgan.bsky.social at Shorelines Liteary Festival
www.shorelinesartsfestival.com/uploads/4/9/...
www.shorelinesartsfestival.com/uploads/4/9/...
September 2, 2025 at 10:34 AM
This Sunday join our @karenjmcdonnell.bsky.social and @jenniferhorgan.bsky.social at Shorelines Liteary Festival
www.shorelinesartsfestival.com/uploads/4/9/...
www.shorelinesartsfestival.com/uploads/4/9/...
You're invited to the Clare launch of my new poetry collection, TIDAL from @doirepress.bsky.social
#thiswriterslife #newcollection #poetry #Tidal
#thiswriterslife #newcollection #poetry #Tidal
August 31, 2025 at 7:28 PM
You're invited to the Clare launch of my new poetry collection, TIDAL from @doirepress.bsky.social
#thiswriterslife #newcollection #poetry #Tidal
#thiswriterslife #newcollection #poetry #Tidal