The World’s Wife

Tonight I went to Seamus Heaney's Homeplace to hear three Northern Irish actresses do readings of Carol Ann Duffy's collection of poems:  The World's Wife. One of the actresses was Bronagh Gallagher (best known to me as one of the singers in The Commitments) and one was Kerry Quinn, whom I've seen many times at The Lyric.

The concept behind the poems is a good one. What was it like to be Midas's wife--unable to be touched by her husband, mad at him for his greed. What was it like to be the wife of Faust, living the high life with no remorse. And Aesop's wife--maybe a bit tired of his moralistic story telling. Elvis's twin sister, the nun. Very imaginative and full of humour. The place was packed--it's wonderful to have a beautiful building (a former police station) to not only memorialize Heaney but also to keep poetry alive.

April 6