New Poetry Club Session Dates

We are excited to confirm upcoming dates of our new Poetry Club for all those who are members of IPTN:

2nd session - 21st May 2022 with Carol Boland

3rd session - 23rd July 2022 with Bernie Walsh

4th session - 10th September 2022 with Elizabeth Fitzsimons

The sessions will be held on zoom. 

Please confirm you wish to attend two weeks before the session and we will send you your zoom invite.

We look forward to seeing you there!

 

Group Poem: How We Rise '21

 

Group Poem 

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step



Dance light-footed across the bog of softness

Still I rise, no blind eye turned to hold the mirror, my soul rises

Tough times do not last, but tough teams do

I imagine light arrowing through rain and sparkling like shiny confetti

Bridges will come if you follow the path, cross them or burn them, you,

Phoenix, can fly

Small, nourishing moments of quiet devotion

By dawn, the sun has whispered to each of the baby blooms in her care

I rise in praise of trees and water

Stick it Ginger! Go find your sacred space . . .

Go experience the grass on the other side

I dream of wide open spaces

Where I can dance naked in the sunlight

Dawn was breaking over the estuary

And those days, when life calls on you to weep - do.

I rise with the slow-dropping snow

The sheer reach of this mountain range uplifts me

The secret of the earth is its patience

You can't unring the bell

I drink to the smell of baby’s skin that was rare before Covid.

 

Poetry Therapy Ezine - Source of Poems in 'Poetry as Healer and Pandemic Collection'

Poetry Therapy Ezine Source of Poems in the “Poetry as Healer and Pandemic Collection (In order of appearance): I. Writing Into the Storm” – Expressing Our Stories and What We Feel: “From the Threshold” by Jane Butkin Roth [In Roth (Ed.), We Used To Be Wives: Divorce Unveiled Through Poetry. Fithian Press, 2002] “Fear” by J. Ruth Gendler [In Gendler’s The Book of Qualities. Turquoise Mountain Publications, 1984] “Dolor” by Theodore Roethke [In H. Vendler (Ed.), The Anthology of Contemporary American Poetry. Tauris, 2003] “All Alone Inside My Very Own Skin” By Judith Viorst [In Viorst’s What Are You Glad About? What Are You Sad About? Atheneum/Simon & Schuster, 2016] “Writing into the Storm” by Lucy Adkins [In Crazy Woman Creek: Women Rewrite the American West. Mariner Books/ Houghton Mifflin, 2004] “Waiting” by Jacob Trapp [In Studia Mystica Vol XII, No. 2&3 (Summer-Fall, 1989)] “Snowbound” by Natasha Lynne Vodges [In Social Work 25, 1, 1980] “History Will Remember” by Donna Ashworth. [https://ladiespassiton.com/2020/03/18/history-will-remember-when-the-world-stopped/] II. Strategies for Coping and Self-Soothing: “A Blessing of Presence” by John O’Donohue [In O’Donohue’s To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings. Doubleday, 2008] “Breath of Life” by Donna Faulds [http://www.mindfullivingprograms.com/resources_poetry.php] “Lockdown” by Richard Hendrick [https://faithconnector.s3.amazonaws.com/unitedpresbyterian/files/lockdown_by_brother_richard_hendrick.pdf] “Pandemic” by Ruth Ungar [https://images.shulcloud.com/686/uploads/PandemicPoem.PDF] “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” by William Wordsworth [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45521/i-wandered-lonely-as-a-cloud] “The Peace of Wild Things” by Wendell Berry [In Berry’s Openings. Harcourt Brace, 1968] “Leisure by W. H. Davies [In Davies’ Songs Of Joy and Others. A. C. Fifield, 1911] “Speech to the Young” by Gwendolyn Brooks [In Brooks’ Blacks. Third World Press, 1991] “Optimism” by Jane Hirshfield [In Hirshfield’s Each Happiness Ringed by Lions: Selected Poems. Bloodaxe Books, 2005] “Let This Poem Be” by Deborah Cooper [https://itstartswithhope.tumblr.com/] “Beannacht” by John O’Donohue [In O’Donohue’s To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings. Doubleday, 2008] III. Cultivating Gratefulness—Celebrating the Ordinary: “The Patience of Ordinary Things” by Pat Schneider [In Schneider’s Another River: New and Selected Poems. Amherst Writers and Artists Press, 2005] “Praying” by Mary Oliver [In Thirst: Poems by Mary Oliver. Beacon Press, 2007] “A Hundred Objects Close By” by Mira Mirabai [http://mollystrongheart.blogspot.com/2013/08/mira-hundred-objects-close-by.html ] “Otherwise” by Jane Kenyon [In Kenyon’s Let Evening Come: Selected Poems (Bloodaxe Books, 2005] “Lost and Found” by Imelda Maguire [In Maguire’s Shout If You Want Me to Sing. Summer Palace Press, 2004] IV. Finding Hope and Developing Courage-Awareness: “May 1915” by Charlotte Mews [https://allpoetry.com/May-1915] “Courage” by Anne Sexton [In Sexton’s The Awful Rowing Towards God. Houghton Mifflin, 1975] “Variation on a Theme by Rilke The Book of Hours, Book I, Poem, Stanza 1” by Denise Levertov [In Levertov’s Breathing the Water. New Directions Publishing Corporation, 1987] “The Unbroken” by Rashini Rea [Silver Linings: The Power of Trauma to Transform Your Life by Melissa West. Fair Winds Press, 2003] “Kindness” by Naomi Shihab Nye [In Nye’s Words Under the Words: Selected Poems, 1995] “Somewhere in the World” by Linda Pastan [In Pastan’s Traveling Light. W.W. Norton & Company, 2011] “Sometimes” by Sheenagh Pugh [In Pugh’s Selected Poems, 1990] “The Thing Is” by Ellen Bass [In K. vanMeenen & C. Rossiter (Eds.), Giving Sorrow Words: Poems of Strength and Solace. National Association for Poetry Therapy, 2002] “Oh Hope” (excerpt) by Charlotte Smith [Elegiac Sonnets and Other Poems, 1795] “A Small Grain of Hope” by Denise Levertov [Making Peace. New Direction Publishing, 2006] “Hopi Prayer” [In C. Rossiter & K. vanMeenen (Eds.), Giving Sorrow Words: Poems of Strength and Solace. National Association for Poetry Therapy, 2002]

Poetry Therapy Ezine vol 6 Iss 2 Autumn 2021

How We Rise - 10th IPTN Annual Conference

 IPTN are delighted to announce their 10th Annual Conference, How We Rise.

held on Zoom on Saturday 9 October 2021.

To register and pay, email irishpoetrytherapynetwork@gmail.com

Apologies for blurry programme. Check image for a better view!

Living with Mistakes - Two Group Poems

 Thank you to all those who attended our Living with Mistakes session on 14th and 15th August 21.

Here are the two group poems written by the participants on each day. 

Enjoy!

Group Poem 14/8/21

Currents and tides hide behind your eyes

when the river is still, I can see

reliving the unrepeatable current

feeling the depths of the river and absorbing it

moving gently and purposely over the earth

sensing the flow of nature

unrestrained boots towards the horizon.

Oh, Mother, carry me down to the river

down to the sea

Oh, Mother, carry me down to the river

no sounds just silence

flowing.

Group Poem 15/8/21

Ask Me

I do so miss the distractions

me myself and I,

what is stopping me from asking?

Rejoice for we can turn and look at the silent river and wait

and carry it for a little while

beneath the icy water unseen, flows cold and clear

no sounds just silence

my silent voice speaks

failing me forward.

Living with Mistakes - Another Session Offered

 

Due to the high demand for places on our Living with Mistakes session on Saturday 14th August, we are running a second workshop on Sunday 15th August '21.

Places are filling up fast so email us at irishpoetrytherapynetwork@gmail.com to reserve your place.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Living with Mistakes

 
‘Living with Mistakes’ is the final session in IPTN’s 2021 series of inspirational workshops that draw on poetry and reflective writing for self-discovery and self-expression.

We all make mistakes. Some of them we can fix, others ‘march ahead of us into our rooms, dripping’ Naomi Shihab Nye.

Yet all of the mistakes you made have led you to be the person you are today.

Join Carol Boland PTP on Saturday 14th August ’21

2pm - 4pm on Zoom

Fee: €15 or €10 IPTN members

Please note: 10 places only per workshop. Priority to IPTN members.

To register, email irishpoetrytherapynetwork@gmail.com

Windows to More Than Ourselves Group Poems - 12 and 13 June '21

 

Framing the Present

 

Plundering riches and pillaging poems

blind me like a dazzling and radiant emblazoned sunrise

allowing the potential to unfold to become more full, more than.

We are all held, the living and the dead

what has survived? 

Intricate filigree of dill

stirring them to dance, rise and fall, slip and fall away

a blush of blue on the horizon

I can see the one sky with colours that dip over the horizon

and new lands can be found, different worlds, and other people

with other ways of living.

Do we love without a return ticket?

This Accepting Window

 

I walk this path everyday

fitting perfectly in

sometimes I trip and fall

walking alone in the woods

it is a humble kind of love

in these long days and short days

it is a kind of love.

 

Windows to More than Ourselves: Poetry and the Imagaination

 

IPTN – 3RD SESSION OF WELLNESS THROUGH THE SEASONS 2021

Windows to More than Ourselves: Poetry and the Imagination 

Saturday 12th June 2pm – 4.00pm (Irish time, GMT+1) on Zoom

In the words of the writer CS Lewis, “We seek an enlargement of our being. We want to be more than ourselves … We want to see with other eyes, to imagine with other imaginations, to feel with other hearts, as well with our own ... We demand windows.”
Windows, both literal and virtual, have played an important role in COVID times, relating to separation, connection and possibility. In this workshop, we will explore the meanings of the word windows through images, quotes and poetry, and take part in some writing activities. We will also reflect on poetry as a portal to the imagination and self-expression.

Held on Zoom and facilitated by Shelley Tracey PTP

€15 or €10 for IPTN Members

Register at: irishpoetrytherapynetwork@gmail.com

Group Poems: Living the Symbolic Life Sessions

 

Living the Symbolic Life with Poetry and Jungian Psychology

Group Poems

Workshop 10^th April 2021

When you are blinded by the sun peeping through the budded branches

Aching but trusting

Because I am not alone and that’s the point

Go softly in the world with padded feet

We’ll stand together and in this moment nothing else will matter

My third leg

Powerful yet vulnerable you saunter through the jungle

A timeless house that bind people together and forms valuable connections

I see a shimmering image bringing wisdom and love

So bright, so fresh, so cocky.

 

Workshop 11^th April 2021

An elephant never forgets
Allow me to be me; allow yourself to be you
and we are one soul
I write with hands that once held you in their infancy
I'm wearing my father's ring, his father wore it too
Meditating on its pitted stone, the crust of its mane
It sits in the quiet of the tree
She is light of foot, protecting her young
Remember the spiritual curl of the tail
Stand your ground
Cupped my hands around you

Keeping in touch with your instincts.

 

 

Living a Symbolic Life - another day added

 Due to overwhelming response to Living a Symbolic Life, Theresa is holding an addition zoom session on Sunday 11 April from 2 - 3.30pm

€15 or €10 for IPTN Members

Please email us at irishpoetrytherapynetwork@gmail.com to book your place on this interesting look at life through Jungian eyes.

Living the Symbolic Life with Poetry and Jungian Psychology

 

IPTN - 2^nd session of Wellness Through the Seasons for 2021   

10^th April 2pm - 3.30pm

‘Living The Symbolic Life With Poetry and Jungian Psychology’.

 "What we call a symbol is a term, a name, or even a picture that may be familiar in daily life, yet that possesses specific connotations in addition to its conventional and obvious meaning. It implies something vague, unknown, or hidden from us. As the mind explores the symbol, it is led to ideas that lie beyond the grasp of reason". C.G.Jung

Would you like to explore what are the important symbols in your life and how you can bring them to light through poetry?  In this afternoon of musings we will work with some of the published poetry of George Swede, Galway Kinnell and Dennis O’Driscoll.  Reading and writing  poetry, and sharing our thoughts alongside a backdrop of Jungian psychology

Held on Zoom and facilitated by Theresa Kelly

€15 or €10 for IPTN Members

 Register at : irishpoetrytherapynetwork@gmail.com

Poetry Therapy Ezine Spring '21

IPTN AGM

 INVITATION: IRISH POETRY THERAPY NETWORK AGM

SATURDAY 20TH MARCH '21 at 2.00-3.30 PM

The meeting will take place on Zoom. 

AGENDA

1.    Chair’s Report

2.    Treasurer’s Report

3.    Election of 2021 committee

4.    AOB

-        Conference and events planning 2021-2022

-        IPTN ezine

-        PT workshops

-        The role of PT during COVID and beyond

 

All are welcome to attend.

Please email irishpoetrytherapynetwork@gmail.com by Saturday 13^th March to confirm your attendance, and you will be sent a Zoom link for the meeting.

Nominations for members of the IPTN committee should be sent to irishpoetrytherapynetwork@gmail.com by Friday 12th March (open to IPTN members only)

Look forward to seeing you there.

Shelley Tracey

Chair

 

Absurdity Embraced - Group Poem

 

Magical Tiptoe

 

Tiptoe through the tulips

silver gossamer with sparkly stars, crescent moons and long purple ribbons

constantly on the prowl

but the clever puss said ‘A ring is a must first’

standing stones stand deep

I will protect them with honey bees and wasps

and veggies with edge

memory flowers that come alive

purring softly under my wing

I am flying over an iced cake of snow capped mountains, dolls houses 

and a pool of Fox’s Glacier sweets

magical mystical movement

we sailed away today.

 

 

 

EMBRACE ABSURDITY AND PLAY WITH THE WHIMSICAL  

IPTN facilitation with Ger Campbell PTP

Saturday 13^th February 2021 from 2.00-3.30pm

 

Nonsense verse combines poetic form with meaningless language and creates a mix of the normal and the absurd.

Explore the concept of nonsense rhymes which can evoke humour and bewilder us in equal measure. Come prepared to toss logic to one side and immerse yourself in the realms of possibilities.

Join us and allow your imagination free rein. Forget the serious side of life for a short while and allow yourself the gift of play.

Come join us virtually for an afternoon of poetry therapy and fun.

€15 or €10 IPTN Members

Email us at irishpoetrytherapynetwork@gmail.com to confirm your place.