Irish Rep Announces Window Film Installation POETIC REFLECTIONS From the Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation

Irish Repertory Theatre will present Poetic Reflections: Words Upon the Window Pane, a series of films from the Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation (Amy Holmes, Executive Director), featuring poets and actors reading poems from Ireland, the United States and England. It is the first public activation of Irish Rep's Chelsea space since the shutdown began. The films were produced in collaboration with Poetry Ireland (Dublin), Druid (Galway), 92nd Street Y (New York) and Poet in the City (London). Irish Rep also announced today Yeats/Gonne: Echoes Over Time, a one-night only special event on March 30, 2021.

Poetic Reflections: Words Upon the Window Pane features collections of short films by Irish filmmaker Matthew Thompson, with music by Gerry Horan and Seán Carpio, in three themes: Home and Sense of Place; Identity; and Writing and Love. Beginning Monday March 22, 2021, the films will be on display in an interactive digital installation in Irish Repertory Theatre's lobby windows at West 22nd Street (132 W 22nd Street, New York, NY 10011) and available online in three digital premieres on Irish Repertory Theatre's YouTube channel. Home and Sense of Place will premiere on Monday March 22, Identity on Monday April 5, and Writing and Love on Monday April 19.

"We are delighted to use our window panes to reflect the multi-cultural face of Ireland," said Irish Repertory Theatre co-founders Charlotte Moore and Ciarán O'Reilly. "These beautiful films from the Brinkerhoff Foundation blend dazzling lrish poets of the 20th century with new potent voices of the 21st. As we pull up the shades on our lobby windows and look forward to welcoming our patrons, we could not be prouder to share these astonishing artists."

Peter and Cathy Halstead, the co-founders of the Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation, said, "We are delighted to be partnering with the Irish Repertory Theatre on the presentation of these original films, which celebrate the enormous richness of Irish poetry past and present. We hope visitors to the exhibition will discover anew the music and magic of Ireland's greatest poets and experience, perhaps for the first time, today's diverse poets who are in conversation with this tradition and who are lifting it to new heights."

Part 1: Home and Sense of Place

Premieres Monday March 22 at 7pm ET

Home and Sense of Place explores the idea of home, the experience of migration, and the importance of place through seven poems by W. B. Yeats, Selina Nwulu, J. M. Synge, Denice Frohman, Doireann Ní Ghríofa, Seamus Heaney and Kayo Chingonyi.

Featuring:
Nithy Kasa reading "The Lake Isle of Innisfree" by W. B. Yeats
Selina Nwulu reading "Half Written Love Letter"
Seán Hewitt reading "Queens" by J. M. Synge
Denice Frohman reading "Puertopia"
Doireann Ní Ghríofa reading "Brightening"
Paapa Essiedu reading "Kumukanda" by Kayo Chingonyi
Joseph Aldous reading "An Advancement of Learning" by Seamus Heaney

Part 2: Identity

Premieres Monday April 5 at 7pm ET

Identity explores poetry as a reflection of the writer's identity through seven films of contemporary poets in meaningful locations in Ireland, New York and London. From Martina Evans's "I want to be like Frank O'Hara" to Mahogany L. Browne's "Black Girl Magic," the poems in Identity are poetical explorations of each poet's sense of self.

Featuring:

Martina Evans reading "I want to be like Frank O'Hara"

Sasha Terfous reading "Identity."

Mahogany L. Browne reading "Black Girl Magic"

Sofia Oxenham reading "Names" by Mary Jean Chan

Tyehimba Jess reading "Blind Boone's Blessings"

Evgeny Shtorn reading "From the Confinement"

Kayssie K reading "My Sister as a Body"

Part 3: Writing and Love

Premieres Monday April 19 at 7pm ET

Writing and Love celebrates the romantic, familial and natural love of poets and artists as expressed in their writing. This collection of eight films features W.B. Yeats's beloved "When You Are Old," a rare translation by Lady Gregory of "The Heart of the Wood" and contemporary works by FeliSpeaks, Nithy Kasa, Seán Hewitt and Dagogo Hart.

Featuring:

Aaron Monaghan reading "When All the Others Were Away at Mass" by Seamus Heaney

FeliSpeaks reading "What Heaney Said"

Juliet Stevenson reading "Hope is the thing with feathers" by Emily Dickinson

Seán Hewitt reading "Barn Owls in Suffolk"

Dagogo Hart reading "Paper Planes"

Nithy Kasa reading "Charcoal Iron"

Doireann Ní Ghríofa reading "The Heart of the Wood" by Augusta, Lady Gregory

FeliSpeaks reading "When You Are Old" by W. B. Yeats

After previous exhibitions in Galway, Ireland, Poetic Reflections is the first major US exhibition of works from the Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation. For more poem films, visit the Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation at brinkerhoffpoetry.org.

The Poetic Reflections installation is free and available to visitors and passersby on West 22nd Street. The digital premieres are free and available to the public on the Irish Rep's YouTube channel and afterwards on IrishRep.org. Patrons who wish to receive a reminder email of event premieres may RSVP at IrishRep.org

Established in 2016 by Peter and Cathy Halstead, the Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation is a literary nonprofit bringing great poetry from across places, eras, and traditions together. The Foundation's aim is to expand access to poetry for audiences worldwide to enjoy. Brinkerhoff's focus is on filming actors, poets, and regular people reading and performing poems. Thus far, films have been made in Ireland, England, and New York. In 2020, the foundation launched its new website and film series, and continues to develop programs at the Foundation and in partnership with organizations including Poetry Ireland, the 92nd Street Y, Poet in the City, Druid, and the Academy of American Poets. The Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation has a robust social media presence, sharing content on Instagram (@BrinkerhoffPoetry), Twitter (@BrinkerhoffPoem), and YouTube (@Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation). www.brinkerhoffpoetry.org

On Monday March 30, 2021 at 7PM ET Irish Repertory Theatre will present Yeats/Gonne: Echoes Over Time. In this one-night-only live online discussion about the lives and legacies of William Butler Yeats and Maud Gonne, biographers Kim Bendheim (The Fascination of What's Difficult: A Life of Maud Gonne) and Joseph Hassett (Yeats Now: Echoing Into Life) will discuss their new books with Irish Rep company member and Yeats scholar, Rufus Collins (The Dead, 1904). The authors will explore the relevance of Yeats in the 21st century and the impact of his complex relationship with Irish activist Maud Gonne, who continues to intrigue almost 70 years after her death.

Pertinent poems by Yeats read by Obi Abili, Terry Donnelly, Colin McPhillamy and Sarah Street, directed by Collins and filmed by Rory Duffy, will intertwine the discussion, along with presentations of photographs and artwork that have inspired and informed both books.

Yeats/Gonne: Echoes Over Time is free and available to the public on the Irish Rep's YouTube channel. The evening will be available for viewing following the event on IrishRep.org. Patrons who wish to receive a reminder email may RSVP at IrishRep.org

Irish Repertory Theatre is committed to making theatre that is affordable and accessible. In pursuit of this goal, we have chosen to make this event free to the public. We ask that if you are in any position to support us, you might consider making a donation in conjunction with this digital event. Your contribution will ensure that we can continue to offer top-quality digital events, hire artists and actors, keep our staff employed, and be artistically and financially ready to reopen as soon as it is safe to do so.

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