Christodoulos Makris

My poem 'Ginsberg in Fingal' was Friday's Poem of the Day on the UpStart blog. As noted there , it's taken from my chapbook Round the Clock , and was composed out of lines from Ginsberg's poem 'America' , written in January 1956. It places the figure of Allen Ginsberg at a specific location (Fingal, a relatively wealthy county in Ireland and home of Dublin airport) and a particular time (late 2000s), and gives this figure a voice. As such it's a straightforward dramatic monologue, or 'persona poem'. But this persona's voice wasn't an invention: at the time of composition correspondences between impressions of contemporary Ireland and 1950s America seen through Ginsberg's poem were too intriguing to ignore.

nthposition is an award-winning and widely-read online magazine of poetry and other writing, including features on people and places, opinion, fiction and reviews. It has just published its May 2011 content, which includes my poem 'University' .

On 5 March 2007 a car bomb exploded on Al-Mutanabbi Street in Baghdad. More than 30 people were killed and 100 wounded. Al-Mutanabbi Street is in a mixed Shia-Sunni area. It's the historic centre of Baghdad bookselling, with bookstores and outdoor stalls, cafés, stationery shops, tea and tobacco shops... It's been the heart of the Baghdad literary and intellectual community since the 13th century. The Al-Mutanabbi Street Coalition was formed as a response to the bombing, to honour the street by creating work that holds both "memory and future" - what was lost that day. To this end it devised and curated the Al-Mutanabbi Street Broadside Project , and completed its call to letterpress printers after reaching a goal of 130 broadsides from 130 individual printers. Thanks to the efforts of writer Evelyn Conlon, thirty of the resulting broadsides were recently exhibited in The Market House in Monaghan and the Central Library, ILAC Centre, Dublin. Now the coalition is...

A little over a year ago, a group of writers who had previously appeared in Succour magazine, as well as a small number selected through open submissions to Succour 's abandoned issue 11 (February 6, 2010), were invited to introduce to their writing practice an exercise that would come to be known as Genius or Not - following the example of Harry Mathews who, in 1980, attempted to overcome writer's block by committing to produce "twenty lines a day, genius or not" for a period of one year (himself following an exhortation that Stendhal once made to himself). Harry Mathews went on to publish the results in his book 20 Lines a Day (Dalkey Archive Press) . Each writer was asked to commit to at least one writing session per month lasting no more than one hour, which would yield a prose piece of no more than 500 words or a poem of no more than 20 lines, and whose contents would not have been preconceived in any way. The result would then be posted for publication within ...

Tongue Box is a night of poetry readings and other forms of spoken word, also featuring live music, taking place on the last Tuesday of every month at The Cobblestone Pub in Smithfield (77 King Street North, Dublin 7). Hosted by Raven and CAH-44, it has developed a reputation as one of the most exciting and fun regular poetry and music events in Dublin. I will be reading at the next Tongue Box on Tuesday 29 March , where I'll also be giving some poems from the forthcoming book an airing. The other featured poets are Catherine Cullen and Abby Oliveira. Music is from Pearse McLoughlin. Start time is 8pm and admission is free.

Wurm im Apfel is throwing a rent party to cover costs for its 2011 programme of readings and publications. Proceeds will go towards the funding of performances by Kimberly Campanello, Rachel Lehrman, Gavin Selerie and David Toms - and the forthcoming publication of full-length books by Dave Lordan, Astrid Lampe and myself. Suggested donation is 10 Euro (alternatives will be accepted...) Those attending are also invited to bring suitably portable works of Dadaist art - or to come dressed as one. There'll be a prize for the best. There will also be a raffle. Performing on the night will be Enda Reilly, Anne Tannam, Cah-44, Raven, Catspupil, Elder Roche and more. 20% of the proceeds will go to Aware , the mental health charity. The date is Tuesday 22 March . Start time is 8pm . The venue is the Cat and Cage , 74 Drumcondra Road, Dublin 9 (opposite St Patrick's College).

On Saturday 5 March I will be reading at an event in London's Poetry Café celebrating the life and work of Allen Ginsberg. Participating poets have been invited to perform Ginsberg's poetry and/or their own material in demonstration of his wide, varied and ongoing influence. The event was triggered by the European release of the film Howl . A list of some of the poets scheduled to read appears on the poster above; a late addition to the bill, I look forward to joining them. Details: The Poetry Café, 22 Betterton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2. Saturday 5 March 2011, 6.30pm for a 7pm start. Admission is free, places are limited.

The UpStart posters are up around Dublin city. Among the earnest political promises that hold little currency we find the unexpected: a fantasy scene, a political cartoon, a startling line, a combative message... The impact is not enormous - these posters are dotted here and there, sometimes overwhelmed by the bankrolled electioneering slogans and those familiar rigid faces - but for those with even moderately roving eyes they provide relief and make a bright splash in their day. Great credit is due to Aaron Copeland, mastermind of the initiative, and to everybody working for months now to bring it to fruition; kudos too to all the artists, writers, filmmakers and musicians who have donated their - mostly uncredited - work to the project. All the work for UpStart , including the images/text on the posters, is now being added to the project's website, where there's also a lively blog . I haven't yet managed to locate the poster with my contribution - eventually I hope to...

On Wednesday 26 January I will be reading as guest poet at the Poetry in Motion monthly series of readings at the Droichead Arts Centre. These sessions start at 7.30pm with short readings from members of the the Saltwater Scribblers writing group (who have now taken over the running of the series). I'm told that guest writer readings can lead to dicussions about the writing craft. Admission is free. Sean-Nos Singing sessions follow the readings - these start at around 9.30pm and are also free of charge. My thanks to the previous organiser of the Poetry in Motion series, Emer Davis, for arranging this reading.

For the 43rd edition of 3:AM Magazine's Maintenant series of features on contemporary European poets, I am being interviewd by the series editor, Steven Fowler . As is the usual practice, the interview is accompanied by a number of my poems . Each featured poet is assigned to a country, and as such I was the first to have fallen into the category marked 'Cyprus'. I comment on distinctions on the basis of nationality in the interview . I was delighted to have been approached for this feature. I think the series is a terrific and necessary initiative from 3:AM Magazine, through which I've become aware of the work of some really exciting poets.