A Glosa in 'The Stony Thursday Book 50'

'The Stony Thursday Book 50' was launched at the Belltable Arts Centre Limerick last Friday evening

Firstly, what is a Glosa when it is at home?

The answer is that it is a poetic form with Spanish origins from the 15th century. A glosa typically consists of four ten-line stanzas each with ten syllables per line. The form also contains a borrowed excerpt from another writer. The borrowed quatrain, known as the cabeza or epigraph or head, is presented at the beginning of the poem, followed by four ten-line stanzas.

The key rule is that the last line of the first stanza is the first line of the epigraph, the last line of the second stanza is the second line of the epigraph, and so on. Following this, each stanza expands upon one line of the cabeza. As an example, see Kathleen Ossip’s “Glosa in Middle Age,” which features four lines by the Flamin’ Groovies.

Secondly, what is The Stony Thursday Book?

The answer is that it is a Limerick-born poetry journal that has evolved into one of the longest-running literary journals in Ireland. Its original founders, namely John Liddy and Jim Burke, were invited to be editors for the 50th anniversary edition of the journal and it launched with great fanfare at the Belltable Arts Centre in Limerick last Friday evening.

Thirdly, why am I writing a blog post about glosas and poetry books? To answer that, I have to go back to the West Cork Literary Festival of 2022, when I participated in a wonderful five-day poetry writing workshop with the esteemed poet Paul Muldoon. My intention and hope was that, somehow, more exposure to poetry and to the craft of poetry might help my prose-writing become more lyrical and succinct, to reach new heights!

While Paul Muldoon was a talented tutor, the greatest gift of the week was the connection I made with a wonderful group of poets. I am the prose-writer impostor at our inspiring monthly sessions. I want to thank Catherine, Fin, Lauren, Maggie, Mark, Mary, Mona, Susan and Úna of Finnytribe for allowing me to participate. We set ourselves monthly poetry-writing tasks and one of the challenges earlier this year was to write a glosa. I wrote one on the theme of climate change. I sent it out into the world and, to my delight, it was selected to be included in this anthology. The launch was a lovely event and it gave me a great excuse to meet up again with my dear friends Catherine and John from Adare. Thanks too to my sister Aileen who also came along to show her support.

Kathryn and Catherine at the launch of 'The Stony Thursday Book 50'

It is an honour to be in the same collection as some poets whose work I admire such as the Kerry poet Eileen Sheehan. I attended a reading of hers at last year's Dingle Literary Festival and thoroughly enjoy her poems. Her most recent collection is The Narrow Way of Souls (Salmon). The poet and writer Mary O'Donnell is also included. She tutored at one of the first short story-writing workshops I attended many years ago at Listower Writers' Week. She is a member of Aosdána and has recently published her twentieth book, a collection of stories, Walking Ghosts (Mercier). However, my favourite poem in the book is that written by my fellow-Finnytriber, Fin Keegan, called A picture of my mother, which is a beautiful tribute to his mother.

To finish, I am including my poem/glosa below. The epigraph is a four-line poem Faith is a Fine Invention by the wonderful Emily Dickinson.

I hope you enjoy my first published poem.

The Emergency is Now

"Faith" is a fine invention

When Gentlemen can see —

But Microscopes are prudent

In an Emergency.

–      Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

The white smoke rose up and blew across the oceans

Cardinals and believers gave praise

For the spirit that moved and called on them

To elect a thinking linguist, an American missionary.

Another smoke or mist blows across minds and countries

Causing some of those same believers to unthink prevention

To believe that vaccinations kill, that bleach should be drunk

That all newcomers are bad and that news is fake

That to make themselves great again, others must seek redemption.

“Faith” is a fine invention.

Ladies can see and cannot unsee

The casual misogyny, the bigotry, the machismo

They view the tripe on the twisted web

And look at photoshopped fantasies

Of tech billionaires and rock stars who blast above Earth

Of trad wives keeping perfect homes and gardens

Of a president wishing to become a pope, a Mighty Me.

Ladies can never be priests declares the new pope

“Faith” will never set them free

When Gentlemen can see­ –

Have science heads and minds had their day?

They fiddled with test tubes

Poured acid on troubled waters

Lit Bunsen burners under facts

Developed drugs and held patients to ransom

Universities withheld free speech from students.

Mr Gradgrind wanted facts and calculations

They somehow got lost in the smoke

We must have “Faith,” do not be imprudent

But Microscopes are prudent.

Our children will flounder in boiling seas

Animals will extinctify, crops will shrivelify

Oceans will rise and cities will fall.

A scorched Earth will offer little shade

For man or beast or living thing

There will be an end to divergency

In this spinning roasting land.

The Emergency is now

There is an urgency

In an Emergency.