Leading Donegal poet Denise Blake will celebrate the launch of her third poetry collection at a special event this weekend.

This Sunday, April 15th at 3:00 pm, Revival Press is hosting a special book launch of the well-known writer, Denise Blake’s newest collection of poetry, INVOCATION.

The eagerly anticipated launch will be held in the luxurious surroundings of Rockhill House Estate, Letterkenny and promises to be a very enjoyable afternoon. The special guests for the event will be the Conwal Singers.

Compere for the afternoon is Donegal poet, Maureen Curran. Published poet, Imelda Maguire, an Traolach O’Fionnain, Donegal Arts Officer, will launch the book.  All are welcome.

Imelda Maguire said: “Denise Blake has an elegant and refined hand. Her poems are not all “pretty” poems, for some pack quite a punch, yet they are poems to “warm a hollowed soul”.  You will find yourself nodding and saying the holy Yes, over and over again.”

INVOCATION is Denise Blake’s third collection of poetry and is published by Revival Press, Limerick Writers Centre.

Denise Blake

Denise Blake was born in Ohio, USA in 1958 and came to live in Letterkenny in 1969. Her first collection of poetry, Take a Deep Breath, was published by Summer Palace Press. Her second collection, How to Spin Without getting Dizzy, was published in Spring 2010.

She is a regular contributor to Sunday Miscellany on RTE Radio 1  and has taken part in many live recordings of the show. Denise has a wide experience in facilitating creative writing workshops in schools through Poetry Ireland’s Writers in Schools Scheme, with teachers and artists as part of Artists in Education, and with adult groups.

Moyra Donaldson wrote this praise for Denise’s work in Invocation: “At a time when life can often seem harsh and cynical, this book is an intelligent and uplifting celebration of love and connection; connection to family, to place, to other people and to the natural world. Family and home are central themes, and echoes from the past resonate into the present in these beautifully crafted poems.

“Blake also has a clear eyed compassion that extends into the world of politics and history in such poems as Lady Liberty and The Rabble Children. Emotionally moving and life affirming, Invocation is a treasure of a collection from a poet who knows and trusts her own unique voice and who understands the value of ‘Staying connected to each other/and bringing wonder to the wider world.'”

INVOCATION is available to purchase at http://www.limerickwriterscentre.com/books/innovation/