Local author has poetry book published in Australia
Delia Tobin, originally from Dillon Street, Tipperary has just published a new poetry book called ‘Among the Wildflowers’ with co- authors Seamus Foley and Sally-Anne Watson Kane
Delia emigrated to Australia in 1988. She began writing poetry in her school days, where she attended the Convent of Mercy, St. Anne’s and St. Ailbe’s Secondary school, and has been writing ever since.
When asked where her love of poetry comes from, she said, “My love of poetry came from listening to my father recite poems to me as a child. I grew up in a home full of children, Irish music and literature.”
In this book, Delia’s poems are about memories from her Irish childhood, driving around Australia in a Holden Kingswood and enjoying a warm camp fire underneath the stars.
Seamus’s poems take us from the Ireland of his youth, Kilkenny, through to his experiences and observations of people and nature in Victoria.
Sally-Anne’s poems journey through her Australian childhood, adolescence and family history in Central Victoria to the Latrobe Valley, mountains, bushland and beaches of Gippsland.
About the book
When Delia was asked how the book came about, she replied,
“I met Seamus Foley at the Celtic Music Festival, in Koroit. Seamus was also part of the Poetry Editing Group Gippsland (PEGG) which Sally-Anne hosted. Covid hit and this forced the Group to go online. That’s when I joined the group and met Sally-Anne. I was delighted for the opportunity for all of us to work together”.
The three poets decided not only to workshop and edit their poems but to work towards compiling a book together. Among the Wildflowers is the result of that collaboration.
The Lark in the Clear Air is about Sunday morning growing up in Ireland listening to Ciarán Mac Mathúna on RTE 1, getting ready for Mass. “This was the theme tune to the radio programme and it brings back so many memories of my father, it was the inspiration for this poem,” said Delia.
Delia is currently living on the Mornington Peninsula, in Australia, with her husband Mark, their three kids and their dog Luka. When she is not writing she loves watching the local footy, painting, camping in the bush and playing the bodhran at Irish festivals.
The book will be launched in Australia at the Mornington Library on August 12, 2023.
Events - Mornington Peninsula Libraries (mornpen.vic.gov.au)
If you would like to order a copy of “Among the Wildflowers” €20 please email: deliatobin@icloud. com she will be visiting Tipperary in September 2023.