Spirorbis by Peter Vine

NEW fifty poems

fifty poems by Michael Gorman is a much anticipated collection from a poet who has not had a publication in almost thirty years – but as can be seen from this collection, Michael Gorman has not been idle. He is much in demand for readings and many of the poems have been included in anthologies. Here in this beautifully designed book Michael Gorman presents an amalgam of new and collected work.

The poetry is much enhanced by the many unique features of this publication. Upon picking up a copy, one is immediately aware that this is not a run-of-the-mill book. The quality of the design by Vincent Murphy of Artisan House is impressive; illustrations by the talented Joe Boske are included, and uniquely selected readings recorded by Michael Gorman are available to listen to on www.artisanhouse.ie/michaelgorman.

RRP €18

NEW Buying Yak Milk in Gurtymadden

Joe Boske is one of Ireland’s most recognisable visual artists.

He has created an enviable library of images through his paintings, posters, and illustrations; text and song lyrics.  In 2016 Artisan House published Joe Boske: The Works.

Now, we bring you Buying Yak Milk in Gurtymadden – its all in the title.  Its not the easiest book to categorise so perhaps we will leave it to the inimitable author, Mr. Boske, to explain: ‘Daft Verse, Worse Prose, No ns e ns e, Surreal Yarns and SurRealEr… Cartoons’.

Buying Yak Milk in Gurtymadden will appeal to anyone with a keen sense of humour, an appreciation of wordplay, and enjoys casting a critical eye on contemporary mores and morals.

RRP €20

NEW from dream to dream where science meets art

edited by Alannah Robins

from dream to dream where science meets art is a beautifully designed and illustrated book containing essays and images by contemporary artists.

A rare opportunity to gain access to artists’ reflections on their work and the role science plays in informing their ideas and influencing their practice. Despite the obvious differences between art and science, this collection of essays posits the claim that science and art offer much to each other: science has benefited tremendously from the work of artists as have artists from the work of scientists.

Edited by Alannah Robins, founder and director of Interface, the editor brings the practice as well as the theory into sharp focus through her experience of working internationally in her own multi-disciplinary art and in bringing artists to the Interface studio to explore at a conscious level the intersections between art and science.

Accessibly written, containing varied disciplines and styles, this collection of essays makes from dream to dream a useful reference book and study for any artist or indeed scientist with a curious mind.

RRP €30

See The Wood From The Trees

Trees have tremendous symbolic power. They are sturdy, robust, and beautiful. They give us shelter and shade, vital energy and oxygen. But they are also vulnerable – to acts of nature and to acts of human avarice. It was an act of nature in 2013 that felled hundreds of trees across the country. Some of the trees that fell victim to the storms were in the grounds of Áras an Uachtaráin and the Phoenix Park. A decision by President Higgins to gift oak, beech, and ash trees to Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology’s campus in Letterfrack was the catalyst for a creative programme of education and a deepening of the relationship between the college and Áras an Uachtaráin. It is the inspiration for this book.

See The Wood From The Trees tells the story of those trees, which in Letterfrack were creatively remade into beautifully designed products following a process of conversion and seasoning. The authors also give an illuminating account of the significance of trees in Irish culture, the plantations at Áras an Úachtaráin, the transformative story of Letterfrack, and the development of the National Centre for Excellence in Furniture Design and Technology. The book contains a foreword by President Michael D. Higgins, an introduction by architect and broadcaster Duncan Stewart, and The Farmleigh Tree Alphabet poems written by Theo Dorgan during a residency in Farmleigh in the Phoenix Park in 2014-2015.

There are three hardback editions:

1. Standard hardback, 2. Special limited edition which includes an extra eight page gatefold and 3. Deluxe special limited cloth-bound edition with hand-bound slipcase.

Tapestry of Light

Tina Claffey is a nature photographer with a love for Ireland’s bogs and wetlands. Her stunningly beautiful images reveal the commonplace as something new and exotic. For almost 10 years, she lived and worked in pristine wilderness areas in Botswana, and this experience awakened an appreciation of the natural world of her home country. Tina’s observations and unique perspective of the flora and fauna of the unspoilt raised bogs and wet woodlands of the Irish midlands are celebrated in her new book Tapestry of Light – Ireland’s bogs and wetlands as never seen before.

This hard back, 156 page, highly illustrated and beautifully designed book will be a quality gift for corporate and private exchange and will ensure that the receiver will never view the boglands in quite the same way again.

Oyster Gastronomy

Oyster Gastronomy from two World Gourmand Award-winning food writers
Máirín Uí Chomáin & Michael O’Meara, was launched at the Clarenbridge Oyster Festival on Sunday, 8^th October by Richard Donnelly, Aquaculture Business Planning Manager with BIM.

Richard Corrigan, chef /patron of Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill, London and Virginia Park Lodge, Co Cavan. describes Oyster Gastronomy as ‘a worthy tribute to this fabulous delicacy’ as well as doing ‘a wonderful job of demystifying the oyster as well as highlighting its incredible versatility’.

It’s a must-have for every serious oyster lover – whether just to have a new accompaniment to your oysters au naturel or a more complex recipe for barbecued, grilled or roasted oyster. As Máirín writes in her introduction ‘can I entice you to be a little more venturesome?’ Oysters are very versatile in their culinary uses and in these health-conscious times, the oyster remains an excellent source of zinc, iron, calcium and selenium as well as vitamins A and B making it a low-fat, highly nutritious and healthy food.  And, of course, its sexy.

Oyster Gastronomy contains over 100 recipes featuring this exceptional seafood accompanied by stunning photography by Walter Pfeiffer and Michael O’Meara.

Award-winning food-writer Máirín Uí Chomáin and award-winning chef/author/photographer Michael O’Meara team up to offer a fresh take on today’s oyster gastronomy.  They use their extensive knowledge, love and enthusiasm for the all things marine to do homage to the wonderfully versatile oyster.