It never fails to move me, and as Grace Wynne-Jones mentioned it in passing today, here it is again, the beautiful video and great words of the truly great Carl Sagan.
May his spirit flourish as a sage in some distant, advanced pocket of the galaxy.

Still no shortage of book launches and readings.
Probable highlights in the next week or so are
John Montague’s memoir, excerpted in today’s Irish Times, is on Monday, Sept 24
at 18.00 in the Irish Writers Centre, Dublin, launched by Fintan O’Toole.
26 September
Mickle Makes Muckle by Michael Augustin
Venue: Unitarian Church, 112 St Stephen’s Green West, Dublin
Time: [...]

Hugh McFadden dropped me this (I reproduce it with his permission)
A Limerick on the subject of the German Ambassador & the Celtic Tiger. Why don’t we start a competition?
An astute German Envoy, Herr Pauls,
said this Celtic Tiger appals:
the feline [...]

Alas, I’ve left it till the last minute to post a notice of a busy poetry evening. Busy busy busy.
Bi-location, anyone?
17.09.2007
Arlen House Launch Night
Poetry Ireland Funded Event Arlen House Launch Night
Poetry Ireland in association with Arlen House launches the following books, hosted by Cathal Ó Searcaigh: Tattoo/Tatú by Nuala Ní Chonchúir; Belongings by Joan & [...]

My good pal Matthew Sweeney is in Ireland for some readings to mark the publication of his latest collection, Black Moon.
Poetry Ireland presents a reading by MATTHEW SWEENEY.
Venue: Unitarian Church, 112 St Stephen’s Green West, D2
Time: 6.30pm
T: 01 - 4789974
E: info@poetryireland.ie
www.poetryireland.ie
Wednesday 12 September: The White House pub, Limerick (Contact: Dominic Taylor, 087 2996409 / [...]

Along with artist Louis le Brocquy, who illustrated his translation of The Táin, poet Thomas Kinsella will be made a Freeman of Dublin today.
Last Sunday, Dublin’s Lord Mayor, Vincent Jackson, unveiled a plaque to the poet at 37 Phoenix Street, in The Ranch, Inchicore, Dublin, where Kinsella spent the first 10 [...]

Pennsound at the University of Pennsylvania continue their fine series of poetry recordings with the collected poetry recordings of Ezra Pound. (see also Tributes to Two Great American Poets in this blog.)
Pound’s poetry and voice, whatever you might think of his political views, are extraordinary. The way he rolls his Rs is fabulous. I wonder [...]

The poet Mark Granier rang me up about a literary matter the other day and in the course of our conversation mentioned his photo blog on blipfoto, which I must confess I never heard of.
It’s called Skyroad,
after his forthcoming collection from Salmon. I logged into it while were talking and was blown away, [...]

Some years ago - it must have been the mid-eighties - Paula Meehan and I were invited to read in Donegal (Ramelton, I think). Our host brought us to the top of a beautiful stone building where there was a roaring fire, and into a back room where we were invited to drink a [...]

Just about a year ago, Patrick Chapman and I set up an experiment called Irish Literary Revival. As we put it in our introduction,
This is where out-of-print and out-of-circulation Irish books are brought back into the world. Although our name is a pun, our intentions are serious.
Would that we both had more time to [...]