Hunger striker Laurence McKeown reading at Over the Edge reading

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Galway Daily arts Over the Edge returns after summer break

This month’s Over the Edge open reading will take place on Zoom at the regular time this Thursday.

The three featured readers at this month’s open reading are local man Liam Boyle, Audrey Molloy tuning in from Australia, and multi-talented artist and political activist. Laurence McKeown.

After the three featured readers there will be an open mic as usual for people to try out their own poetry for an audience starved for new arts.

The November open reading will take place this Thursday, November 19 from 6:30-8pm.

Liam Boyle was born in Drogheda and moved to Galway in the 1970s, recently getting back into the poetry he was fond of his his youth after a gap of several decades.

In the past year he has rediscovered the joys and challenges of poetry and has read his work in various settings. His poems deal mainly with memoir and reckonings.

Audrey Molloy is an Irish poet based in Sydney whose work has been featured in Poetry Ireland Review, The Irish Times, and more.

In 2019 she received the Hennessy Award for Emerging Poetry, the Aesthetica Creative Writing Award and the APIBA (An Post Irish Book Award) for Irish Poem of the Year.

Her debut pamphlet, Satyress came out this year, and her first collection, The Important Things, is due in 2021 from The Gallery Press.

Laurence McKeown is an author, playwright, filmmaker, and academic whose work examines art in the broader role of political activism.

His involvement in creative works, political education, and academia began during his period of incarceration as a political prisoner in the H-Blocks of Long Kesh from 1976-92, during which time he took part in the famous 1981 Hunger Strike for 70 days.

Whilst pursuing his PhD studies, Laurence co-wrote with Brian Campbell, a feature film, H3, based on the 1981 hunger strike within the prison.

Laurence has written twelve plays, three books, one TV series, a radio drama, and three documentary films. His most recent play, Green and Blue was premiered at the Belfast International Arts Festival in 2016.

People are invited to join in the Over the Edge Zoom meeting on Thursday at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7389013549, Meeting ID: 738 901 3549.