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ROADMAP Michael McDermott MINIATURE MASTERPIECES
We’re the type who pine for a time when your concert ticket was a collector’s item rather than a bland Ticketmaster + fees artefact. Therefore, it’s no surprise that we are also philatelists at heart. We were transfixed at The Otolith Group’s presentation of an incomplete timeline of Independence Stamps from Africa in IMMA earlier this year. And now we celebrate a new exhibition which honours 100 years of our own stamps. From the official overprinting in Irish of British King George V stamps, to the symbolism of the first Irish stamp designs in 1922-23, to today’s confident expressions of Irish identity in fashion, music, and urban street art – the exhibition explores the changing interpretation of Ireland and its culture through stamp design. A digital database of the range of stamps issued by An Post since the printing of the first official Irish stamp will also be on display. National Print Museum until May 2024 THE STORMS... is a journal of poetry, prose and visual art which has just brought out its third volume. Originating from Damien B Donnelly’s poetry podcast Eat the Storms, its intent is to explore “the hope amid the howls, the possibility between the precipitation and universal vulnerability that is shared”. Its latest issue features contributions from Joshua Vermilion (visual arts), Joseph Fasano (poetry) and Byddi Lee (prose). The cover is taken from a trip Donnelly made to South Korea five years ago, “I still travel back there, in my mind, to centre myself,” he says. eatthestorms.com @thestormsjournal submissions: thestormsubmissions@yahoo.com TREAD SOFTLY... is an endearing new collection of classic Irish poems for children. “…the best poetry is so magical, for any of us, at any age,” says editor Nicola Reddy. “Even if at first it seems challenging or obscure, all it takes is a striking image of familiar idea, along with lovely rhythm and rhyme - and suddenly you’re on the path to understanding and enjoying the whole.” Featuring heavyweights such as Yeats, Wilde, Synge, Swift and Joyce, Tread Softly also introduces us to some lesser knows such as Ethan Carbery, Alice Milligan and Katharine Tynan. Accompanied by beautiful illustrations by Erin Brown, treasure these with someone you love. O’Brien Press, €19.99 8