Pádraig Ó Tuama on Poetry and Power

Irish poet and theologian Pádraig Ó Tuama joins me to discuss the role of poetry, lament, and rage in conflict resolution.

Padraig has been the director of the Corrymeela Community, Ireland’s oldest peace and reconciliation organization, and in 2011 he co-founded the storytelling event 10 by 9, where 9 people have up to 10 minutes to tell a true story about their lives, related to themes which change monthly.  Padraig is currently the theologian in residence for the On Being Project, a media and public life initiative, where he is responsible for a podcast called Poetry Unbound. 

In our interview, he brings in the work of Helene Cixoux, Doireann Ní Ghríofa, and Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, among others, as we attempt to combine the symbolic and the structural in our effort to understand contemporary conflicts. 

As always, the episode can be found in iTunes by typing oursociallandscape into the search box.