11 September 2024, David Gomez, Las Cruces, NM – Have you heard of Stiofán? Stiofán is an Irish poet, artist, and graphic designer. We recently caught up with Stiofán to discuss his forthcoming book and a couple of his future projects.

“I became interested in poetry at a young age,” says Stiofán. “My grandmother, she was a painter and poet. When I visited her, she would share some of the most amazing poetry I’ve ever heard.”

Stiofán says he discovered that much of what she read to him was her writings. That led him to a lifetime love of poetry.

“Poetry is the second half of my soul. I have always had a love of words. And that love has grown.”

Stiofán says that when he was younger, though he didn’t grow up in a Christian home, he was familiar with the Bible. It was a passage from the Bible that set him firmly on the path of writing.

“At a young age, maybe eight years old, I read a verse: ‘In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God. And the word was God.’ I thought all words– the written word– were God. I saw libraries and bookstores as temples. And I viewed writers as sharing in co-creation with God. And those who would recite those words, the poets, as special.”

Early on, Stiofán developed a love of haiku, a short form of poetry from Japan.

“Haiku is a poem that is no longer than a single breath,” says Stiofán. “In that small space, I can discover worlds, and the reader gets to share in this discovery.”

Stiofán says that the reader of all poetry brings their life experiences and their hopes to that discovery and they can complete the small poems with who they are.

Two poems that Stiofán shared with us:

emptiness
a blank page full
of stories

In this poem, I can see the emptiness of a new life, and daily we are writing the stories that we will live. We are left to fill our lives with our own stories.

Another poem he shared:
late
in my mother’s house
i practice
as silver hair falls
in this ink-dark night

With this poem, I can recall a moment in my childhood when I was home, in our house in Boston, with the lights out. I was sitting in my bedroom, trying to create a small sculpture of a fox. Each clay strand of “hair” fell from my hands to the floor, as the moonlight came through my bedroom window.

I shared my thoughts with Stiofán.

“The idea of a blank page and silver hair helped bring thoughts and memories to mind as you read my words. You created your poem,” says Stiofán. “You should write your poetry as you read my work or the work of others.”

And we should, we should read with pen and paper to hand as we never know what we will create, as Stiofán says.

Stiofán also wanted to talk about the lack of lessons concerning poetry in our public schools.

“When poetry is taught, as it was in my school, it may only be a forgettable week or two in English class,” says Stiofán. “I recall from my school years only two weeks of poetry.”

In the Middle Ages, one of Stiofán’s favorite eras for poetry, poets centered many poems around themes of bravery, chivalry, romance, and religious teachings. Beowulf: One of the first English poems to be penned, the story of Beowulf likely existed long before the written text.

Wandering minstrels would travel from town to town and share these poems. These were major events, when a poet would come to town, with tails of far-off lands and people.

“My forthcoming book, ‘Just a Few Words,’ is not ambitious enough to enthrall people with tales of bravery, romance, or history,” says Stiofán. “My one hope is to create a small spark within the reader that they may fan into the fire of their poetry and stories.”

What will Stiofán be working on while we read his book and write our poetry?

“I have two projects I am working on,” says Stiofán. “First, in El Paso, Texas, I once participated in a showing of clocks. I created a clock that combined function with art. Over the next several months I will be creating twelve unique clocks based on my poetry.”

Stiofán is also working on an art installation, the human form in glass.

“I’m keeping this one close to my chest,” says Stiofán. “I will tell you this much, it will change how we look at people.”

Stiofán’s book will be available in December, in time for Christmas shopping.

If you would like to follow Stiofán or contact him, you may find his information on his LinkTr.ee by clicking here.