TWO of Ireland's leading contemporary poets will come together at the Irish Cultural Centre in London later this month for a special evening celebrating the launch of their latest collections.
Where the Lines Meet, on Wednesday, July 21, will see acclaimed poets Martina Evans and Mícheál McCann read from new works that have already attracted significant critical attention.
Although representing different generations and distinctive poetic styles, both writers have earned reputations for exploring contemporary life with originality, wit and emotional depth.
Evans will launch Drunken Driving, published by Carcanet Press, which has been selected as a Poetry Book Society Choice. The collection follows her widely praised narrative poem The Coming Thing and is set in Pentonville Prison during the 1990s.
Centred on Imelda, a young mother working in the prison's X-ray department, the poems combine sonnets with quotations from Dracula and prison security regulations to explore themes of power, violence, justice and institutional failure. The work has drawn praise for its blend of dark humour and sharp social observation.
A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, Evans has enjoyed a distinguished career in both poetry and fiction. She is a former winner of the Pigott Poetry Prize, while several of her recent collections have been recognised as Books of the Year by publications including The Irish Times, The Times Literary Supplement and The Observer.
Joining her will be Derry-born poet Mícheál McCann, who will introduce Lives of the Saints, his second poetry collection following the success of his debut, Devotion.
That first collection was Highly Commended in the Forward Prizes for Poetry and was named a Book of the Year by both The Irish Times and RTÉ.
In Lives of the Saints, McCann reimagines the stories of Christian saints through a modern lens, combining reflections on faith, identity and memory with poems inspired by everyday experiences. Among the collection's best-known pieces is The Impossible Request, in which the poet's grandmother, having forgotten he has already come out to her, gently asks whether he has "any girlfriends yet."
Alongside his work as a poet, McCann serves as poetry critic for The Irish Times and teaches in Belfast.
The event will conclude with a book-signing, with copies of Drunken Driving and Lives of the Saints available for purchase.
Where the Lines Meet takes place at the Irish Cultural Centre, Hammersmith, on Wednesday, July 21.
Wed July 22nd July, 7.30pm
The Irish Cultural Centre, 5 Blacks Road Hammersmith W6 9DT
Booking: https://irishculturalcentre.co.uk/whats-on/
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