Siobhan Campbell

"One of our most beloved contemporary poets", is how former Ireland Professor of Poetry Paula Meehan describes Philip Casey (1950-2018). Cherished by many for his tenderness, fortitude, hope and tenacity, Philip was an award-winning novelist, admired poet and vital presence on the Irish literary scene for four decades. Philip battled repeated health challenges, stood up for causes he believed in, and relished making mischief. He was, in the words of the poet Theo Dorgan, "some man for one man". Philip believed in the idea of a community of writers, and his open-mindedness drew others towards him - whether to his Dublin home, or to his grassroots support base in his earlier home of Hollyfort, Co Wexford. His booming laugh and powerful handshake were legendary. The many contributors, including Sebastian Barry, Eilean Ni Chuilleanain, Dermot Bolger, Moya Cannon and Thomas Lynch, praise Philip Casey's gifts as a writer of poetry and fiction, as well as highlighting their admiration for him as a man.

In 1919, the fledgling Irish State sent envoys out into the world to represent the Irish people and assert our independent voice. Since then, Irish diplomats and their families have been inspired to give creative voice to their experiences. The arts of diplomacy and of writing are close companions – both appreciate the importance of words and the necessity of imagination. For things to happen we must first imagine them; this holds true for peace as much as poetry. This volume comprises a selection of personal, creative and unofficial writing by Irish diplomats and their families. Part of the Department of Foreign Affairs centenary programme, the collection is a tribute to the creative power of language and the imaginative bonds that connect us. We are all strangers – here, there and everywhere – but wherever we go, we also find ourselves among friends. Between these pages, encounter a century of familiar names and new companions.

Siobhán Campbell is an Irish author noted for poems characterized by keen intelligence, cool skepticism, rich textures and wryly witty observations. Her new collection from Seren, Heat Signature, continues her fascination with power and responsibility as she skewers our most cherished notions in sharply memorable poems.

Acerbic, cool, controlled, Siobhán Campbell gives us poetry with attitude. Many of the stories here start in Ireland and although the cadences are sweetly lyrical, the narratives are otherwise. Politics here is intrinsic to the tales of the sly, the warped, the landlady 'Mean as Ireland in the 50's'. Nature is deftly invoked as a counterpoint to human illusions. The apparently personal poems here are cast in a more tender, yet characteristically unsentimental light. Campbell brings the lyric close to the conflicts that spur our passions, both personal and political. She often takes a dialectic approach, at times employing rhythmic narratives which act as an antidote to stark subject matter. While full of wit, this collection challenges the reader by dealing with fundamental questions of borders, identity, violence and responsibility."The tension between the reality of violence in human nature and the aesthetics of her poetry is keenly felt. Her adroitness of balance is striking." S.J. Litherland"Poems that are fierce, luminous and clear-eyed; torpedoes lined with feather strokes." Bernard O'Donoghue"… there is an outstanding ear for the music of language… the rhymes and half-rhymes give the verse a rewarding sureness and slyness. Siobhán Campbell's sense of cadenced disturbance marks her out as someone worth listening to with attention." Robert CrawfordSiobhán Campbell was born in Dublin, she is a graduate of University College, Dublin. She spent a number of years in New York and San Francisco and worked as Managing Editor of Wolfhound Press before joining Faculty at Kingston University in London. Widely published in the USA and UK, she has won awards in the National, Troubadour and Wigtown International competitions. Her other collections are The Permanent Wave and The cold that burns, (Blackstaff Press) and chapbooks That Water Speaks in Tongues (Templar Poetry) and Darwin among the machines (Rack Press).