The Hungry Grass

 

The Hungry Grass is my third book of poetry which will be launched in Hollyfort Old School Centre, Hollyfort, Gorey, Co. Wexford at 7.30 on Thursday 11 April 2024

All Welcome!

Strength Through Poetry In Challenging Times

 IPTN 9th Annual Conference will be held on Zoom this year.

Reserve your place on Facebook Event page or email IPTN

Please note places are limited to ensure a positive experience.

Crow Duo and Gorey Writers

On 27 September 2018, CrOw Duo,  improvisation musicians, played with Gorey Writers in Gorey Library.
An amazing evening where music and spoken word combined in a dynamic performance.

Delighted to be part of this innovative project.

Coming Ashore - a new collection of poetry

My latest collection of poetry, Coming Ashore, was launched on 14/6/18 at the Old School, Hollyfort, Gorey.

Music and poems rang out in the old school, and the evening was a great success thanks to Hollyfort's Tidy Towns, friends and family.

The book is available from Boland Press at €10 (plus P&P €2.50)

It's official

At St. Anne's Church, Dawson Street receiving my BSc degree in psychotherapy.

Pen Fest Carlow

Pen Fest 2017 in Carlow Town runs from 22nd to 24th Sept 2017. As part of this writing festitval, Carol Boland facilitates a Self-Discovery through Poetry session on Sunday 24th in Carlow Library from 2pm to 4pm.

Check out the full programe at
http://www.carlowlibraries.ie/events/pen-fest-2017-carlows-creative-writing-festival

Future of Poetry Therapy in Ireland

Irish Poetry Therapy Network is running a Strategy Forum on the Future of Poetry Therapy in Ireland on Sat 11 Feb at 2pm in Spencer Hotel on Clarion Quay, Dublin.
All welcome to join the open discussion. If you are interested, please email irishpoetrytherapynetwork@gmail.com

This is a free event.

Playing with Words

IPTN Annual Conference: Creative Arts and the Inner Self

Creative Arts and the Inner Self

Finding your inner self through the creative arts of poetry and film

        Day workshop of self-discovery           

finding your inner self through poetry & film

Sunday 9 October 2016

Tinakilly House Hotel

Rathnew, Co. Wicklow

€70/€60 iptn members

To reserve your place, email irishpoetrytherapynetwork@gmail.com

Programme:

Building Bridges            

Carol Boland PTP :This workshop will explore personal meaning through metaphors and symbols to encourage positive growth and change.

Self-Reflection : Film and the Arts

Dr Noreen Giffney, will consider how visual culture texts offer each of us an opportunity to be with our own thoughts and feelings while watching a film or visiting an exhibition. Excerpts from selected films will be screened, followed by group     discussion.   

Theresa Kelly PTP

Exploring who ’I AM’

             I’m nobody! Who are you?

             Are you nobody too?

                                   Emily Dickinson

Working with varied materials and poems, we will explore the different roles we take on in life.

 Dr. Shelley Tracey

Opening the Doors to Happiness

         I throw open the doors and windows of my heart and allow the sun and the wind and the rain to come in.   Osho

In this session we will share ideas about happiness, exploring         images, quotations and poems on the theme. Each participant will create their own ‘recipe for happiness’.

IPTN Poetry Therapy Session: Sunday 10 July 2016

The next IPTN Poetry Therapy Session, The Journey, is on Sunday 10 July 2016 in Grove Mill, Hollyfort, Gorey, Co. Wexford.
The session runs from 2pm to 5pm.
Cost is €10 (€5 for IPTN Members) and light refreshments will be served.

All those interested in self-discovery through poetry are welcome.

Poetry Therapy Session in Letterkenny

I am looking forward to joint-facilitating a Meeting Your Inner Self poetry therapy session with Theresa Kelly on Saturday 21 May '16 in Gartan Outdoor Center, Letterkenny.
Full details on IPTN site.

1916 Commemorative Poem to Hollyfort women

I was delighted to be asked to write a poem to celebrate the opening of the 1916 Commemorative Garden by the Bann River in Hollyfort, The garden is  dedicated to Aileen Keogh and Maire Comerford, Hollyfort women activists during the 1916 Rising.

These women knew their place

for Aileen and Máire

We plant a garden

on cleared, re-seeded ground

to remember new beginnings

look towards the hills of Hollyfort

where hope dared to dream

in the tobacco fields and ditches.

We plant three granite stones

for remembrance

a path to lead the way

a flag to fly

in the face of despair.

These women nursed their visions

never faltered in the chase

for in the story of this land

these women knew their place.

New Poetry Therapy Journal from IPTN (Boland Press)

IPTN is publishing a biannual ezine, Poetry Therapy Journal Read it online here

Time and Tide by Shed Poets

The Shed Poets have published their latest collection of poetry, Time and Tide (Boland Press).

Here is one of my poems included in the book

Pulling Her Strings

She was a marionette
a teller of stories
by attachment
controlled
by a disembodied voice
pressing buttons
from behind

a velvet curtain

          until she found
a pair of scissors
and once again
the stage was hers.

Workshop Sessions:

Carol Boland - Finding your Rhythm
A workshop where music and poetry combine to connect us to our inner rhythm. Finding the beat in poetry with the help of a conga drum, we will discover our natural flow so helping to keep us in sync with our true selves.

Theresa Kelly - Poetry Immersion
An invitation to meet ourselves at a deeper level by opening to the words of published poets, accompanied by music and movement. Engaging with the poetic words to help us find our rhythm and express it through the healing power of our own words and poetry.

Ger Campbell's interactive workshop combines poetry and reflective writing with a movement meditation. We will engage with the concept of “rattling the bones” a practice used by Native American and African tribes. This practice helps release tensions, fears and anxieties held in the body. Through movement meditation we can centre and ground ourselves thus freeing us up to write and explore the rhythm of the empty spaces within us and allowing for a deepening awareness of self.

IPTN Annual Conference

Date for your Diary

The annual IPTN conference will be held on Sunday 11 October 2015. This will be a one-day event at a venue to be decided. Workshops will revolve around 'the rhythm of life'. I will be facilitating one of the workshops and hope to see you there.

Irish Poetry Therapy Network Workshop - Sunday 26/7/15

I am holding the next irish poetry therapy network peer group session at Grove Mill, Hollyfort, Gorey, Co. Wexford on Sunday 26th July from 2pm to 5pm.
Fee: €10 and €5 for IPTN members.Numbers limited so fee should be paid to reserve your place.
The Irish Poetry Therapy Network run regular sessions on self-discovery through poetry in Kilkenny and Gorey and all are welcome to attend.

First Irish Poetry Therapy Practitioner

It was smiles all around when IPTN committee and my mentor Niall Hickey celebrated my becoming a qualified poetry therapy practitioner with iaPoetry - the first in Ireland. I am pleased to say there are several more iaPoetry trainees in the pipeline.

Theresa, Carol (PTP), Ger, Kay and Niall

Well-Being Through Poetry Convention - Laughter is the best medicine

Irish Poetry Therapy Network is holding 3rd Annual PT Convention on 11/12 October 2014 in Kilkenny Hotel, Kilkenny.

There will be a Laughter  Workshop by Cara from the USA and I will be facilitating a workshop on the topic
'We'll laugh about it later' - or words to that effect!

Check out IPTN website for details as they are confirmed.

Looking forward to it!

The Peace of Wild Things in Gorey Library's Pop Up Garden

Celebrate Gorey Library's Pop UP Garden with a poetry therapy session 'The Peace of Wild Things' with Carol Boland, Monday 19 May at 11am as part of the Bealtaine Festival.
Enjoy poetry and music of nature for an hour of self-discovery and well-being.
Bring your favourite nature poem to read among the flowers.

Free admission but places must be booked in advance.