September 1, 1939 by WH Auden

I sit in one of the dives
On Fifty-second Street
Uncertain and afraid
As the clever hopes expire
Of a low dishonest decade:
Waves of anger and fear
Circulate over the bright
And darkened lands of the earth,
Obsessing our private lives;
…

From September 1, 1939 by WH Auden

Listowel Writers’ Week Irish poem of the year: Birthday by Brian Kirk

The WINNER of the LISTOWEL @WritersWeek IRISH POEM OF THE YEAR is… #AnPostIBAS pic.twitter.com/G1RU8t8eNd

— An Post Irish Book Awards (@AnPostIBAS) November 27, 2018

By coincidence, after we setup a page for occasional poetry, one of our past contributors* won a national award for an occasional poem. Link: Read “Birthday” by Brian Kirk, and two other shortlisted poems.

* Brian Kirk’s short story That New Girl was our story of the month for November 2018. 

Introducing: Occasional Poems

The idea is that amid the short stories and literary goings-on there will be occasional poems, which will also be “Occasional Poems.” Poets Laureate have to write them for state events but occasions are not only royal births, weddings and deaths. One recent example was the centenary of the 1918 armistice, no? Yours might be very personal and it need not be topical, it could be from the past or an imagined future, perhaps.

Please send submissions together with a biographical note for publication, to editor@willesdenherald.com. You retain all rights, and each poem will be marked as copyright your name and the year.

Published 21/11/2018. Updated passim 21/11/2018, 27/11/2018, 11/12/2018, 23/12/2018.