Midland Arts and Culture Magazine | SPRING 2013

In an exciting initiative
aimed at bringing the
arts, and specifically
the written word in
rhyming poetic form,
closer to everyday life
in the town, Tullamore
Rhymers’ Club has
launched the first
edition of its
chapbook, Under
The Fading Lamp.
Rhymers’ Club members at the ‘Readings From The Pallet’ event in Banagher last year. Back row, left
to right, Seamus Kirwan and Anthony Sullivan. Front row, left to right, Ken Hume and Thomas Carty.
writings in rhyme
Written, funded and produced by
the Rhymers’ Club, the chapbook
takes its title from lines in the
Thomas Kinsella poem, Mirror in
February, which reads: “Under
the fading lamp, half dressed –
my brain/Idling on some
compulsive fantasy...”
Speaking on the subject of the
title shortly before the launch,
rhymer Thomas Carty explained:
“As poets, we sometimes find
that our minds are never fully
turned off from the writing
process. Even as we go about the
business of our day to day lives,
the wheels of rhyme are ever
turning and often times it’s in the
midst of the very ordinary and
necessary acts of living where life
is actually glimpsed a little
clearer, be it for the best or
otherwise, and within those
moments, poetry is born.”
The poet continued explaining:
“This is what happened with
Kinsella while he was shaving.
And of course, all writers have
spent late nights and early
mornings trying to build and craft
and chip away at the visions
they’re chasing, so there you have
the obvious relevance of the lamp.”
What the Rhymers’ Club hopes to
achieve with Under the Fading
Lamp is quite simple, as revealed
by Ken Hume: “What we want to
do is provide people with an
opportunity to read poetry from
local writers on a more regular
basis and in a relaxed, informal
way such as when they visit the
library or when they’re enjoying a
cup of coffee in somewhere like
Chocolate Brown’s [in Tullamore],
for example.
“The books are free, so if anyone
wishes to take a copy home with
them they’re more than welcome
to do that. If not, the idea is that
people will read as much as they
want to and then when they're
done, just leave it there where
they found it, for whoever comes
along next to hopefully enjoy, too!”
Another member of the Rhymers’
Club, Séamus Kirwan, detailed
the groups’ plans for future editions
of Under the Fading Lamp.
“At the moment anyway, we are
looking to publish three editions
this year. If each can have a
lifespan of at least a week or two
with a little bit of profile, plus
whatever may come beyond that,
then we feel we'll have achieved
something in the way of making a
contribution to the artistic life of
the town during the year...How
that contribution is viewed, of
course, or the response we get, is
not something we can think too
much about because it's beyond
our range of influence really. It
will be what it will be.”
“All we can do,” said Séamus, “is
put something out there and see
what happens. But I think, in any
artistic process, the very act of
creation is the most important
thing. Any issue of judgment,
matters only very slightly in the
overall context of events.”
The first edition of Under the
Fading Lamp was officially
launched at a low-key, no fuss
affair in Tullamore Library at the
end of February. Willie Rimes,
another poet in the Rhymers’
Club, revealed the groups’
reasoning for this approach.
Tullamore Rhymers’ Club are:
Thomas Carty, Ken Hume, Willie
Rimes, Seamus Kirwan, Jillian
Britton-Batty, James Delaney,
Cormac Lally and Anthony Sullivan.
The club celebrated its first
official anniversary last January.
During that year, members have,
amongst other things, published
collections, been invited to meet
President Higgins, taken part in
the Tullamore Arts Festival and
helped co-ordinate events to mark
National Poetry Day. The Rhymers’
hope 2013 is every bit as
creatively busy, challenging,
exciting and rewarding!
Tullamore Rhymers’ Club wish to
express their sincere thanks and
gratitude to everyone who has
supported their Under The Fading
Lamp project, and in particular, to
artist Chris Tyrrell for his fantastic
cover illustration. Copies of Under
the Fading Lamp can be obtained
from any member of the club.
M
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