http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2008/10/black-ice-and-rain/ A blog from the Poetry Foundation where contemporary poets debate classic and contemporary poetry from America and around the world. Sun, 21 Mar 2010 04:15:10 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2008/10/black-ice-and-rain/#comment-5945 Desmond Swords Fri, 31 Oct 2008 21:06:24 +0000 http://pf/harriet/?p=1130#comment-5945 If Donaghy were alive today, he may have been up for giving a thumbs up for the second All Ireland Live Poetry Championships, which take place on Wednesady 12 November at the hite House pub in Limerick city centre. Delivering from memory, was the duty of a bard, from all the seven levels on the 12 year course, which began on the first day of term, today Samhain - trans. summers end - when the students from thes 1200 yr in print institution of poet-schools that ran from the 5 - 18C, gathered at their ollamhs door, ready to study through the long six month semester, until Beltaine on May 1, breaking up at the first sound of the cuckoo hooting in the wood, where the bard schools were situated. Each grade from focloch (sapling) to ollamh (poetry professor), the trainee fili (poet) had to learn so many tales from the 350 in the syllabes, 250 of which were primary, learnt by the first six grades, and a 100 aecondary, secret, never written narratives transferred as all their learning was, from tongue-tip to ear, as we see in the imagery of the Irish god of language, eloquence and poetry Ogma, who the first proto-Old Irish script ogham derives from. Ogmios is the Gualish equivalent who Roman writer Lucien depicts as an aging bald with bow and club, leading a happy band of scholars chained by their ears to his tongue, signifying the bardic practice of oral transmission for learning. Only 200 of the tales live on in print, in the four cycles of Irish myth, all primary, the secondary ones gone, along with this tradition of learning for most poets. But Michael, as O'Brien says, living tradition, on show in Limerick, unsponsored and paid for out of my pocket, so if any wish to help, please seek me out online and write to me for a lesson on how to reach imbas, Segais and the three extemporised methods took in the eighth year of learning the ancient art of filidecht, alive since the first culdee came and wedded themselves to God, breathing still in this Kilmainham bedsit, a wanderer retunred whose story's not one of dislocation and loss as so many of our diaspora, but that of re-connection, home to Nechtan, Connla's well, with cupbearers, tales and myths, taken from the pages time almost forgot. gra agus siochain If Donaghy were alive today, he may have been up for giving a thumbs up for the second All Ireland Live Poetry Championships, which take place on Wednesady 12 November at the hite House pub in Limerick city centre.
Delivering from memory, was the duty of a bard, from all the seven levels on the 12 year course, which began on the first day of term, today Samhain – trans. summers end – when the students from thes 1200 yr in print institution of poet-schools that ran from the 5 – 18C, gathered at their ollamhs door, ready to study through the long six month semester, until Beltaine on May 1, breaking up at the first sound of the cuckoo hooting in the wood, where the bard schools were situated.
Each grade from focloch (sapling) to ollamh (poetry professor), the trainee fili (poet) had to learn so many tales from the 350 in the syllabes, 250 of which were primary, learnt by the first six grades, and a 100 aecondary, secret, never written narratives transferred as all their learning was, from tongue-tip to ear, as we see in the imagery of the Irish god of language, eloquence and poetry Ogma, who the first proto-Old Irish script ogham derives from.
Ogmios is the Gualish equivalent who Roman writer Lucien depicts as an aging bald with bow and club, leading a happy band of scholars chained by their ears to his tongue, signifying the bardic practice of oral transmission for learning.
Only 200 of the tales live on in print, in the four cycles of Irish myth, all primary, the secondary ones gone, along with this tradition of learning for most poets. But Michael, as O’Brien says, living tradition, on show in Limerick, unsponsored and paid for out of my pocket, so if any wish to help, please seek me out online and write to me for a lesson on how to reach imbas, Segais and the three extemporised methods took in the eighth year of learning the ancient art of filidecht, alive since the first culdee came and wedded themselves to God, breathing still in this Kilmainham bedsit, a wanderer retunred whose story’s not one of dislocation and loss as so many of our diaspora, but that of re-connection, home to Nechtan, Connla’s well, with cupbearers, tales and myths, taken from the pages time almost forgot.
gra agus siochain

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