THE POWER OF POETRY

Source: http://www.maganews.com.br

Language level: C1 Advanced

Speaker: Mark Worden

Standard: British accent

The Power of Poetry

Will Stone is an award-winning English poet and translator. He recently attended the Poetry on the Lake Festival and it was here that he met with Speak Up. We began by asking him what had first attracted him to poetry:

Will Stone

(Standard English accent)

It was just something that came, really. Well, I was always good at English at school and I used t write stories, and that was obviously my forte, but I didn’t really take it up later on, English. I probably should have done a degree, but for some reason I didn’t and then the poetry just started…well, actually I started writing songs first, I was more of a musician, and I wrote a lot of songs, I had a long period of writing songs, and then I sort of…that sort of died off and I started writing poetry more, so it came out of the song.

SOCIETY TODAY

In 2008 Will Stone received the Glen Dimplex Poetry Award. this was for his book, Glaciation, which one critic called “a collection of poems of oblique and uncomfortable beauty.” The Glen Dimplex is in fact an Irish award. Will Stone believes that his poetry is considered too heavy for Britain audiences, who tend to prefer lighter, less serious work:

Will Stone:

I’m not saying that it’s all bad, but I just think a lot of what is most obvious, or what Is most evident, to people, seems to be the same genre of poetry all the time because partly that’s because that’s what people relate to, and it’s what people are…’cause a lot of people in England were turned off poetry by having to do it at school, so anything that’s difficult, or got any real depth, it’s not easy for them to engage with it. I think they tend to be more drawn to a kind of poetry that is more of an entertainment, or something that sort of has part entertainment and part…it has some meaning that corresponds with people, but it isn’t always something that your really need to think about for too long. You know, it’s like an instant hit and then it’s over, which kind of reflects our society.

Galway and The Claddagh Ring

The Ring of Love and Friendship

Source: Speak Up

Language Level: Advanced

Standard: British Accent

The Ring of Love and Friendship

The Irish word “Claddagh” means “Stony shore.” In century past the “Claddagh” was a famous fishing village, just across the river Corrib from Galway city. Its elected leader, the “King of Claddagh,” ruled the fishing fleet in Galway Bay and settled disputes.

Today visitors still go to Claddagh to see its swans, and to enjoy a good view of Galway city, but the village’s old mud-wall cottages have been replaced by modern housing.

The “King of Claddagh” is now an honorary title.  The current King of Claddagh is Michael Linsky, who naturally wore his Claddagh Ring when we met him in the museum room of Thomas Dillon’s, the longest-established Claddagh jewellers. As Michael explained, the ring consists of a heart held by two hands with a crown on top.

Michael Linsky

Standard Irish accent.

The heart is for love of course, the crown is for loyalty, and the hands are for friendship. Now, love, as you know, will wane, as time goes on, loyalty will always be under pressure, but friendship never dies, it’s the one thing that will linger on.

THE STUFF OF LEGEND

There are many legends connected with the Claddagh Ring. One says that in the 17^th century a young man from Galway, Richard Joyce, was kidnapped by pirates and sold to a Moorish master goldsmith, who taught him the craft. When Joyce returned to Galway, he presented his faithful lover with a gold ring with the now famous design.

The story of Michael Linsky’s family is also very romantic. When Michael’s mother, a Claddagh woman, left for Boston in 1912, she was booked on the Titanic. Luckily, The Titanic was full, and she went to Boston on a different ship. Michael’s father joined the British Army and fought in the First World War and his mother and father wrote to each other for nine years. Later, in the “Hungry Thirties, when Michael grew up, most Claddagh women had a Claddagh ring, as well as their plain gold wedding hand. Life was difficult and many people pawned their rings in order to pay for a ship passage for America. Today the ring remains popular as a symbol of love and friendship. It’s worn by people everywhere and it is said that some 200 Claddagh Rings were found in the rubble of the World Trade Center. In spite of that sad statistic, the Claddagh ring is generally seen as a source of happiness:

Michael Linsky:

Where it originated is a bit of a mystery, but it’s one of the most popular rigns in the world. I mean, any country I’ve been…and I’ve been into quite a few, off and on, and I often met somebody with a Claddagh Ring, and suddenly we’d have a big conservation: “Oh, where are you from?” “Ah, yeah?” So… we’d be starting to talk, and it was the ring that introduced us in its own pirate, silent way.

The Magic Ring

The Claddagh Ring represents marriage, engagement or friendship. It consists of a crown over a heart, which is held by two hands. The crown symbolizes loyalty, the heart is for love and the two hands are for friendship. If the ring is worn on the left-hand ring finger, facing away from the body, then the wearer is engaged: if the ring is worn on the same finger (but the wearer is married. On the right hand, the ring facing outwards means “free,” while, if the ring faces inwards, it means “in love.”

Where to Buy a Claddagh Ring

There are many jewellers in Galway selling Claddagh Rings, but the longest-established (1750) is Dillon’s, now at n° 1, Quay Street, the main shopping street. A room at the back tells the history of the ring and the Claddagh area in photos and memorabilia. It also shows the ring through the ages (including the smallest Cladddagh Ring in the World). Check the website www.claddaghring.ie for a list of their famous client Winston Churchill and Queen Victoria, Grace Kelly and John Wayen. By the way, Jim Morrison of the Doors and his girlfriend exchanged Claddagh Rings during their “Pagan wedding.” 

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