“I like myself better when I’m writing regularly.”
Willie Nelson

creative writing with kevin higginsAnd that is a fact Willie, I feel the same as I am sure a lot of people do, writing regularly is a good habit to have and a fine way of escapism from the jaws of the day. For many people, writing poetry or fiction can come easily and instinctive, yet, there are people who love to write yet like to do it from the dark corner of their homes and never get to show and share their creation.

Emerge Literary Journal Who would have thought it that the love of eating a delicious sandwich would turn in to a poem and then eventually be published online in a literary journal; well that’s what happened with my Ode To A Gourmet Sandwich, a poem I had written one day in a coffee shop in Galway after eating probably the most delicious cranberry, bacon, turkey and salad sandwich I have had so far, prompting me to embed it in to memory through the ink of my pen.

Anne McCabe tv director and novelist talks writingAs this site grows I had intentions to add some interviews to it, a world I know nothing about and have no skill in construction nor know how to go about doing, but, as it happens, I have been lucky enough to get in-touch with Ros Na Run director and novelist Anne McCabe for the first interview for the site and readers.

Anne McCabe is a writer and TV director and has won awards for original TV drama and documentaries. She has worked for RTE directing the likes of Glenroe and Fair City and has worked along side Brendan Gleeson and Gabriel Byrne. Anne established the hit Irish drama Ros N Run where she currently directs.

‘You are a dyed-in-the-wool, fascist, reactionary, squalid little, ‘know your place’, ‘don’t rise above yourself’, ‘don’t get out of your hole’ – complacent little turd. ‘
Harold Steptoe

 Steptoe and sonI know I just wished Jack Kerouac a happy birthday in the last post but today would have been the 100th birthday of the actor Wilfrid Brambell who is best know for the character Albert Steptoe in the hit 60′s TV programme Steptoe and son and he is one of my favourite characters of all time.

Jack Kerouac Is Alive and Well at 90!

Jack Kerouac, beat poetsWell, only in memory and legend and of-course the world of literature, but I do love to think if Jack were alive to day, what would he be doing at the tender age of 90 and what would he have accomplished?

So its March 12, it’s Jack Kerouac’s 90th birthday, and this has me thinking about this wonderful writer, how I discovered him and how he brought literature especially poetry alive and jumping of the page to be lodged like cement in my brain. I have read nearly everything belonging to Jack Kerouac and I am currently reading through every novel he has written simply because I enjoy his style and pace of writing, the simplicity of the stories, and the timeline they are situated in.

A Brief Encounter with Ricky Teague, Poet.

The Street Poetry of Ricky Teague

Photo By Jeff Marcowitz

As I am looking through some oldish books at home, a brown sheet sneaks out to the floor and as I pick it up I am hit with warm memories of a meeting I had at the top of Market Street in San Francisco with a homeless man and writer named Ricky Teague, and this sheet was some of his poetry I had purchased.

Over The Edge poetryThis Thursday I highly recommend coming along to the Over The Edge Open Reading at the Galway City Library and for once, I will probably have the night off myself and able to attend. It is always a great night with a packed house, and this month I really do believe you are in  for a treat with the poet Anne Irwin, for whom I have participated in many creative writing classes through Kevin Higgins  and right at this month once again I am in the same class as Ann and enjoying her wonderful poetry.

Support Your Local Arts

Irish Literary Magazines I’ll admit, I’m a magazine addict and hoarder and love nothing more that a good Literary magazine and at the moment there are plenty of excellent old and new to choose from, most I purchase as regular as I can though some are only released quarterly. But, if you are anyway in to literature, art, poetry, fiction, reviews, there is no better way to support the local artists than to buy local Arts magazines.

How To Write A Rictameter Poetry Form

Having Fun With Poetry Forms – Rictameter

poetry and writingI’ve decide to do (hopefully) a regular group of posts on poetry forms and their importance and use. I know many modern writers of poetry have opted just to write free verse in the belief the form is useless and out of date but I tend to disagree as to me, using forms is basically just about training and improving your writing brain and broadening your knowledge in your trade and industry, and adding some fun to your writing, bare with me. Today, let’s have some fun with the short crazy form of the Rictameter.

poetry and writing San Francisco

Sitting here, looking out my window at Galway bay (and the misery of raging wind and rain), writing, drinking a beautiful cup of coffee, and every-time I drink coffee these days, a slight sadness slaps me, with a longing for Caffe Trieste on Vallejo street in North Beach, San-Francisco, and as I am trying to get this site up and running, get a few posts going, I’ll will weep and sigh about this place today.

Welcome To The Ranting Beast

Welcome to my new site and blog. My name is Stephen, a passionate writer of Poetry and now in the process of learning Play Writing and also hoping to get in the habit of writing more short stories with a novel in mind. I have been writing years and many of my articles are well spread over the Internet.

I have set up this site with the intention of writing more Poetry, but also with the intention of teaching people with an interest in learning how to write passionately in contemporary writing but more importantly the basics such as form and structure and hopefully inspire ideas and energy in to your writing.