I was recently alerted to the fact that there are a number of videos on YouTube from the UCD Poetry Archive Collection and I have 8 videos on their YouTube page. All 8 poems are from Jewtown and you can find them on the Video page of this web site. Below is one example of […]
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Review of Jewtown from Israel
Today I received another review of Jewtown, my first from a Jewish reviewer and my first from someone outside of Ireland. Natalie Wood of PerfectlyWritePoetry published her review on the eve of Rosh Hashannah, the Jewish New Year, and I was very pleased with her words. She also published “Tashlich”, one of the poems in the […]
RIP: Shirley McClure
I was very sad to hear of the passing of the poet Shirley McClure today. Since meeting Shirley at the launch of her second collect, Stone Dress (Arlen House), she has been very kind to me in my own writing. In Carlow, we had the pleasure of her company with Jane Clarke and Breda Wall Ryan, which Derek […]
Culture Night, Galway
I had a brilliant time in Galway as part of the Over the Edge Culture Night event in Kenny’s Bookshop and Gallery. Any excuse to come to Galway is always welcome but with Emrys staying at home with grandma, it was lovely to go away for a night with Rozz on our own. We got […]
Galway Advertiser Review of Jewtown
I was delighted to hear that Jewtown got another review, this time in the Galway Advertiser by Kevin Higgins. Here is the text of the review below: JEWTOWN, SIMON Lewis’s debut poetry collection, published by Connemara’s Doire Press, tells the story of Cork’s Jewish community, from their arrival fleeing pogroms in 19th century Czarist Russia, […]
A Night in Bray
I had a lovely evening in Bray where I read some poems from Jewtown. I was among 4 artists who showcased their work including a visual artist, a singer and an actress. The Bray Arts Group were celebrating their 20th anniversary with around 40 people in attendance. It was nice to meet a number of people […]
A Jewtown Mitzvah – talk
It’s interesting that it appears the closing of the Cork Jewish Synagogue seems to have resurrected some form of community in the Munster region. Interestingly, from my own perspective, it is not an Orthodox community that is coming together, but a Reform Jewish Community, a more modern version of Judaism, which confirm to more of […]
Cork City Reading
Last night I read in Waterstones, Cork City, with the well-known writer William Wall. William has had his latest collection of short stories published by Doire Press and it’s well worth checking out. For me, I was much more nervous than usual because this was the closest I’ve ever read my poems to the actual […]
Reading in Cork City
I’m looking forward to my next reading in Waterstones in Cork City this coming Thursday with William Wall. When I say I’m looking forward to it, I’m also feeling most nervous about this reading because it’s going to be the closest I’ve been to Jewtown physically for a reading. I assume some of the crowd […]
Some Jewtown-related Reading
I’m having a few days away in Mayo with the in-laws and decided to buy a couple of books with me. There’s no wifi or phone connection in my mother-in-law’s house so Internet is limited to a few snatches of connection whenever I’m in an area where there is coverage, hence this very very short post. I […]