The Stranger, our film poem for this month, comes from co-creators Jessamine O’Connor and Carmel Balfe. It explores being a migrant in Ireland and being an Irish migrant abroad.
Jessamine O’Connor has lived in a train station in the rural west of Ireland since the last millennium. Her debut collection ‘Silver Spoon’ was published by Salmon Poetry recently and she is an editor with Drunk Muse Press. Previous poetry publications include: Shot Glass Journal, Abridged, The Poet’s Republic, The Cormorant, Jacar Press, Ofi-Press, Poethead, Skylight47, Culture Matters, Fifth Estate, The North, The Stinging Fly, Poetry New Zealand, and New Irish Writing. Her poems have won four competitions and been shortlisted for many more. She has just completed a degree in Writing and Literature at IT Sligo and is writing a novel. You can view more of her work at www.jessamineoconnor.com
Puppeteer Carmel Balfe combined her interests in fabric craft, character making and visual art to develop her own distinctive style of puppetry. In 2010 she set up Little Gem Puppets, a company that works with live shows, workshops, film and television.
YouTube channel: Little Gem Puppets
Twitter @littlegempuppet
Facebook: Little Gem Puppets
Website: www.littlegempuppets.com