The Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation 3

A series of 12 poetry films commissioned by the Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation, in collaboration with Poetry Ireland and Druid, showcasing work by Ireland’s most exciting new poetic voices, as well as performances and new takes on classic Irish poetry.

Films featuring Seán Hewitt, Doireann Ní Ghríofa, FeliSpeaks, Evgeny Shtorn, Theo Ndlovu (Touché) and ATMOS Collective were all filmed in Coole Park, Co Galway as part of DruidGregory, Druid’s celebration of the life and work of Lady Augusta Gregory. The films featuring Nithy Kasa, Sasha Terfous, Kayssie K and Dagogo Hart were filmed in Dublin in collaboration with Poetry Ireland.

This selection of gorgeously captured poetry films is a celebration of beloved poems of Irish history as well as the diverse and thriving poetry of the present day.

Over a number of days, viewers can tune in to experience Ireland’s most exciting new poetic voices reading their own work, as well as that of the poets who inspired them.

Subjects span the personal and universal, touching on broad human themes that include immigration, inspiration, and our relationship with the natural world.

Two new poetry films will be streamed each day over six days in partnership with the St. Patrick’s Festival.

Sasha Terfous reads her poem “Identity” and Atmos Collective perform their poem “The Illegitimate”.

Irish spoken word poet and performer Sasha Terfous was born and raised in New Ross. She began writing as a teenager, delving into forms including short stories, novellas, and screenplays before homing in on spoken word poetry as her preferred genre. Terfous counts Maya Angelou and Sylvia Plath among her early poetic influences.

Her professional career as a poet began in 2016 with Word Up Collective, a newly formed group bringing together Irish artists working in rap, hip-hop, and spoken word. Since then, she has performed for Red Bull, RTÉ Ireland, Dance 2 Connect, and other venues and events.

In 2019, she participated in the Female Tribes project, the largest global study on contemporary women to date, becoming a voice for its arrival in Ireland. The poem she wrote for the occasion, “Warrior Women,” is a vehement, urgent response to the study’s findings that it has never been better to be a woman in Ireland.

2020 has found Terfous writing passionately on the Black Lives Matter movement, and performing for the online edition of Bloomsday alongside Aidan Gillen, David Norris, and Glen Hansard. Terfous lives in Waterford and is at work on many future projects.

ATMOS Collective was established in April 2019 by a group of Galway-based artists from culturally diverse backgrounds who work with music, film, spoken word, and theatre.

They produce original music, film, and art through the process of artistic collaboration and community engagement. Their vision is to investigate, nurture, and celebrate the eclectic “atmosphere” of Galway through music, art, and film.

Theophilus Ndlovu, a.k.a. Touché, is a songwriter, rapper, and producer. He has been DJiing and making music since the age of 15.

Benjamin Enow, a.k.a. B.E.O., is a singer-songwriter, actor, and hip-hop artist whose diversity in music cuts across a wide range of genres.

Alice McDowell is a fiddle player and documentary filmmaker. Originally from Australia, she first landed in Galway in the late 2000s and has been immersing herself in traditional Irish music and folk traditions ever since.

Films by Matthew Thompson
Images by Matthew Thompson