My name is Catherine Ann Cullen, and I set up this tarry at home website while I was studying books for children in the Pollard Collection at Trinity College Dublin. It has since become the website for the annual Bookmarks programme run by the Trinity Access Programmes in under-resourced primary schools in Dublin. I am the resident writer on Bookmarks and, with artist Angela McDonagh (and previously artist Hannah Maguire) and editor Síne Quinn, I work with between 70 and 90 children every year to encourage, inspire and help each one of them to write and illustrate their own book over about two months. You can see work from the latest Bookmarks project here.
I’ve collected some of the work that I’ve published or broadcast here, along with articles about and reviews of my work. You can get in touch by commenting or email me at cacullen at tcd.ie
Read my essay on the influence of song in my work, from the Dedalus Press website, here and while you’re on my publisher’s site, why not buy my new and selected poems, The Other Now? Click here to get your copy.
Here’s my poem. When the Bough Breaks, on the stunning website of Design 2015. This crafty crowd commissioned me to write a poem about craft in March 2017, and I spent some time with woodturner Roger Bennett to get a feel for his work.
Read the Irish Times piece on my residency at St Joseph’s School, East Wall (May 2017): Click here
Sunday Times piece ‘My Week’ (February 2017): (Click here for the text)
Read a piece from the Leitrim Observer on my reading for National Poetry Day (April 2017) Click here
Listen and watch me reading my poem, Meeting at the Chester Beatty, in the Irish Poetry Reading Archive, James Joyce Library, UCD. Click here
Here I am in the Irish Independent with fellow judges of the International Reclaim the Vision of 1916 poetry competition, and artist Robert Ballagh: That’ll do for now! More pictures and links to my songwriting coming up soon!
I wish I had joined the library at tcd on leaving school . A magical place
You need leaving cert with 2 honors . I had 7 and a love of hanfdlying books and was fascinated by libraries
Catherine Ann, would you mind forwarding the poem you read at the International Year of the Nurse
Hi Cathleen, email me at poetinresidence at poetryireland.ie and I’ll send it on!