We dosed ourselves as prescribed with some quality Poetry Appreciation in late July, a diverse collection of Irish poets, all worthy of our attention.

First up Maggie played a video of the poem she wrote called It’s Not Rain, about all the trips she took in Ireland in 2024. The physical journey in the bus may have been interpreted as a metaphor for the human experience of ageing.

We continued our journey through the poems of three Irish women poets, where images of landscape reflected the poem's theme. Included was Journey by Maggie Breen where this landscape spoke to the speaker’s internal state.

The Men I Once Knew by Mary O'Donnell is a poem that embraces the sensory pleasures of womanhood and reflects on past lovers; while the voice in Paula Meehan’s Hannah, Grandmother suggests praying to the Virgin Mary rather than relying on male clergy in the confessional.

Bev shared When All This is Over, by Siobhan Campbell, in which hope is reclaimed after the tragedy of years of political instability in Ireland; and Quarantine by Eavan Boland, in which love endures in a profoundly human way amidst the tragedy of famine.
Kathy gifted us a beautiful reading of The West Wind by John Masefield. This poem repeatedly called a brother home to the land where he belonged.

Finally, Warning was a treat brought by Meg. We all had a typed handout of the poem, and we experimented with each of us reading one line at a time. This poem reflects aging as a form of release, using humour and everyday details to question why people wait so long to live freely….

Links can be found on our U3A Poetry Appreciation page on the website.

In August we will return to Australian women poets, then follow on with poems about aging to add to our ‘performance’ collection. 
​
Maggie Hollins

​Mary O'Donnell

​Poet and novelist Mary O’Donnell was born in County Monaghan in 1954 and studied German and philosophy at National University of Ireland, Maynooth. O’Donnell is recognized as a leading figure in the generation of Irish women writers who began publishing in the 1980s and 1990s; her work is often cited as key in expanding the horizons of Ireland’s traditionally male-dominated literary world. She currently teaches poetry at Galway University.

​Mary O’Donnell’s first three collections were published by Salmon, two of which were nominated for Irish Times Literature awards. Her most recent collection of poetry is Those April Fevers (Ark UK, 2015). She has also published four novels and two collections of short stories. Fiction and poetry have been widely published.

Hannah, Grandmother
Hannah, Grandmother
 
Coldest day yet of November
her voice close in my ear--
tell them priests nothing.
Was I twelve? Thirteen?
Filthy minded.
Keep your sins to yourself.
Don't be giving them a thrill.
Dirty oul feckers.
As close as she came to the birds and the bees.
on her knees in front of the Madonna,
Our Lady of the Facts of Life
beside the confessional--
oak door closing like a coffin lid
neatly carpentered
waxed and buffed.
In the well made box of this poem
her voice dies.
She closes her eyes
and lowers her brow to her joined hands.
Prays hard:
woman to woman.

'Oodgeroo Noonuccal' - Film 1 of 3 films in a series titled 'Dream Time, Machine Time' , you can read 'The Dispossessed' and find out more about Oodgeroo Noonuccal at ​https://www.nfsa.gov.au/collection/item/dreamtime-machinetime-we-are-going

*The reading of Barn Owl by Gwen Harwood we used in class was taken down by owner.

Read "South of my Days" - ​https://www.poetryverse.com/judith-wright-poems/south-my-days

My Five Senses...

​Now my five senses
gather into a meaning
all acts, all presences;
and as a lily gathers the elements together,
in me this dark and shining,
that stillness and that moving,
these shapes that spring from nothing,
become a rhythm that dances,
a pure design.

​While I'm in my five senses,
they send me spinning
all sounds and silences,
all shape and colour
as thread for that weaver,
whose web within me growing
follows beyond my knowing,
some pattern sprung from nothing -
a rhythm that dances
and is not mine.

Judith Arundell Wright (1915-2000)

Link to the words of Cate's poem - Red Room Poetry

Our intrepid band of poetry lovers further explored the theme of ‘Protest’ at our May session, including a poem by a student from Broadmeadows, some street poetry and a wonderful group poetry reading by Americans of a poem by Amanda Gorman. We are rather taken by the idea of a similar mass poetry reading in Benalla!

Poems by Australian poet Gwen Harwood selected by Kathy included ‘Suburban Sonnet’, a protest theme also represented by Maya Angelou’s powerful poem ‘I Rise’ and Helen Reddy’s song ‘I am Woman’.

Our session fell during National Reconciliation Week, and this proved fertile ground for exploration of poems and songs, including Midnight Oil’s ‘Beds are burning’, Yothu Yindi’s ‘Treaty’ and ‘Took the Children Away’, by Archie Roach.
​
Next month we will look at poetry by Australian female writers, as well as sharing our poetic ‘finds’ of the past month.

​Mary Lou Keogh

​We spent a very enjoyable couple of hours exploring Protest poetry, some in the form of song – quite a contrast to our previous discussion of poetry about love.

We found that protesting at society’s inequalities has existed through the ages, and covers a wide range of groups- calls to protest the inequalities caused by the Industrial revolution, as exemplified in the strident ‘Men of England’; resentment in Ireland against British occupation – shown in Yeats’ ‘Easter 1916’; the tension in war between patriotic fervour and the destruction of society’s norms, as exemplified in ‘Beat! Beat! Drums’, or the sheer horror of Wilfred Owen’s ‘Dulce et decorum est’.

​We also had a chance to discuss the wonderful poem ‘Municipal Gum’ by indigenous poet and activist Oodgeroo Noonuccal, as well as a couple of Irish poet Seamus Heaney’s poems – ‘Requiem for the Croppies’ and the challenging ‘Punishment’.
 
We have more to discuss, and so the theme of ‘Protest’ will continue next month. We will also share any poetic gems we have discovered since our last session.
 
Mary Lou Keogh

Mary Lou Keogh
​April 22, 2026

Our small but appreciative band of poetry enthusiasts ‘shared the love’ at our March
session, covering a number of poems on the theme of love – love in all its forms, from
romantic to love of the divine.

We found the poems could be enhanced by song, music and art, as well as fine spoken word.

Renditions of some of the greatest poems in the English language, covering poets such as Shakespeare, Donne, and Marvell, as well as more modern poets such as Daragh Fleming, Eavan Boland and Maggie, one of our own participants.

Next month we change the subject somewhat, looking at protest poetry.  We will also share any poetic discoveries we have made during the month, including more love poems.
​
Mary Lou Keogh

A small, enthusiastic group attended our first Poetry Appreciation session. 

We shared our reasons for enjoying poetry and read out our favourite poems.  Poems ranged across a spectrum from 'To his mistress going to bed' by John Donne, to Judith Wright's 'Woman to Man' and Robert Frost's 'Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening', 'Reflections' by Benalla poet Tricia Veale, to 'Refrigerator, 1957' by Thomas Lux. 

This led to much discussion, lots of laughter and an enthusiasm for further sharing on different themes.  Our theme for next month is Love Poetry, with 'love' in its broadest interpretation.

Mary Lou Keogh

Responding to a query in class, from an article in 'The Economist', Australian born Maxine describes her parents, 'in their flared cords and velour turtlenecks, as “Black Britain to a tee”. Her father was an academic of Jamaican descent with a PhD in pure mathematics, and her mother, an actress of Guyanese heritage. They emigrated to Australia in 1976, when the country was opening its borders ever so slightly, after the “White Australia” policy (which openly excluded migrants of colour) was abolished in 1973 by the then prime minister, Gough Whitlam."  

​Maxine's poetry spans and synchronises 'rage and playfulness' as she surveys and challenges abuse of power, always in a grounded, yet provocative manner.  Her poetry readings often reflect her history of slam based performance poetry. . 

Maxine Beneba Clarke reads 'Home to Biloela' ​

​'We're Union', written during Covid 19, was commissioned by the Trades Hall Council...

For members who might enjoy reading, listening to and discussing poetry.

A chance to bring along your favourite poem to share. Participants may offer selections from poets or poetic works on agreed themes for general discussion a bit like a book group.

Suggested themes will hopefully come from the group but may touch on some of life s big themes like birth, love, war and death, as well as more light-hearted topics - ballads, songs, nature, animals.

While the focus isn't on writing poetry, if you have written poetry you would like to share on the themes discussed, you will be encouraged to do so.

Convenor:  Mary Lou Keogh 0418 590 373

Time and Place:  4th Wednesday 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm   U3A Room 1