Kilkenny co-author has poetry book published in Australia

Seamus Foley has just published a new poetry book called ‘Among the Wildflowers’ alongside co-authors Delia Tobin and Sally-Anne Watson Kane.

Seamus’ poems take us from the Kilkenny of his youth 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.

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.

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: [email protected]