Laois poet and broadcaster Pat Boran will launch ‘Hedge School’ – his eighth collection of poems – on Wednesday, December 4, in the Dunamaise Arts Centre, Portlaoise.
The event starts at 7pm and will include readings from Boran accompanied by music from talented young Laois harpist, Kiêu Conroy.
Hedge School takes its name from the underground schools that sprang up in resistance to Ireland’s Penal Laws.
But, for Boran, the poems of this new book are: “more about a necessary reconnection with the local, and especially with the natural world.
“A recommitment to civic and civil exchange at a time when combative politics and online disinformation is swamping our best efforts to show real concern and care for each other.”
Poems range from his childhood in Portlaoise, to fond recollections of residents of the town, and to wider considerations of family, home, community and society.
Hedge School demonstrates Boran’s “trademark precision” presented in his “relaxed style.”
His previous books have received the Patrick Kavanagh Award for Poetry, among other prizes, making him in-demand as a speaker, editor and promoter of all things poetry-related through Ireland and abroad.
Further information on the book can be found at www.dedaluspress.com, and to view prize-winning poetry films by Pat Boran, see www.patboran.com.
