It could be post-traumatic stress from the Leaving Cert days, but a lot of people's first instinct when they hear the word 'poetry' is to run.
Although we could talk for hours about the ingenious musings and writings of Heaney, Kinsella, Boland et al, their tales showcase a different Ireland. There are elements that remain, for sure, but a perspective on our island in 2020 is paramount in ensuring that poetry stays alive.
Here are five pieces of poetry that reflect a modern Ireland. The multi-cultures, multi-faceted, many faces of modern Ireland:
Emmet Kirwan - Heartbreak
'Heartbreak' is a mammoth six minute piece written and produced by Emmet Kirwan.
The piece was commissioned by THISISPOPBABY as part of RIOT, which won Best Production at the 2016 Dublin Fringe Festival.
It sees Kirwan detail the travails of a young woman in Ireland, the tribulations of raising a child alone all while standing against a patriarchal and lob-sided society. Kirwan's raw delivery is only bested by his words, cutting down an Ireland before Repeal the Eighth, still backwards in its treatment of women as though their objects owned by the State or men at large.
'Heartbreak' and its central sentiment can be embodied with one immortal line:
Stand in awe of all Mná
Natalya O'Flaherty - Cherry Blossom
'Cherry Blossom' is an ode to a multi-faceted and troubled soul who couldn't be saved.
O'Flaherty tells the tale of Git as an affable character who couldn't get out of his own way. The wordplay throughout is intricate, continuing at the almost grime-like pace mentioned within.
The poem's ending hits you like a tonne of bricks, building you up yet taking you down with a thud of the last line:
You went to a party
And never came home
Felispeaks - For Our Mothers
Felicia Olusanya, or Felispeaks, is one of Ireland's premier spoken word artists. In 'For Our Mothers', she talks about Nigerian culture and how womanhood is discussed behind closed doors. The poem talks about how Nigerian women exist within their marriages and how they pass on their truths and secrets to their daughters.
The poem will be part of the revised Leaving Cert English curriculum from 2021 onwards.
'For Our Mothers' captivates throughout, giving a deeper insight into the intricacies of being a woman, both in general and in Nigerian culture. What drives the point home occurs at the end of the poem, with the repetition of "for Mama's sake," as though your love and affections are your mother's to experience through too.
Mango - Bread & Butter
00:00
Another day in the Dub
'Bread & Butter', whilst being a standalone piece of spoken word, is also the opening song on Mango X MathMan's Casual Work album. It stands to the versatility of the piece that it can exist in both realms and thrive all the while.
'Bread & Butter' is a look at the minutiae of Dublin life, particularly in the earlier half of the last decade. It wrestles with the perception of 'sessioning through the recession', lost loves, lost mates, lost opportunities.
The poem is an insight to a generation of people who were thrown head-first into a post-Celtic Tiger Ireland.
Get a job
Build a bridge
Skip the kids
To fill the fridge
Paul Curran - The Youth Still Own The Art
'The Youth Still Own The Art' is a succinct piece written by the late Paul Curran. It tells a tale of 2016 and how, throughout all the misinformation, ruinous politics and deaths, the youth can still rise.
Curran's work and words cut through the core of a listener. Through his spoken word pieces and with his band Burnt Out, Curran had a voice which pierced and prodded, yet had measure.
It may be 2020 now, but us and ours are still on the same side, where the youth still own the art.
Although not necessarily spoken word, 'Dear James' is another stellar piece of art, with Curran's fingerprints all over it.
