My Weekend: I’ll read poetry for an hour with the light coming in the window...the best start to the day.

Tell us a little bit about yourself:

My name is Molly Twomey, I’m a poet. I grew up in Lismore County Waterford with my parents, Neil and Siobhán and two brothers, Michael and Paul. I’m now based in Cork city. My debut poetry collection, Raised Among Vultures was published last May with the Gallery Press. I’m currently basking in the glorious and long sunny days, enjoying a summer full of literary festivals, including the West Cork Literary Festival where I will read alongside Hannah Sullivan.

What is your ideal way to spend a Friday night?

I love to go ‘home home’ back to Waterford some Fridays and see my family. I love that first moment when I walk in the door and see my dad and mam, there’s usually so much to catch up on! This is followed by some good grub and chats that go on and on for ages. I’m really fond of my family, they’re gas. Then at about midnight, I’ll watch Better Call Saul with my brother, Michael, which we have been watching forever as we are not together enough to watch it consistently!

Lie ins or up with the lark.. which is it for you?

Oh up with the lark, I love the mornings, even in winter. My boyfriend, Mike, will often get us coffee from Filter and I’ll read poetry for an hour or so with the light coming in the window which is just the best and most sublime start to the day. I live for the mornings.

Does work creep into your weekend at all?

Well, I suppose it does but my work is writing/ reading/ teaching/ performing poetry so it's something I want to do all the time. I don’t ever mind it creeping into my weekend, if anything, I welcome it. Though I do see and feel the benefits of taking a break now and then and I am no stranger to burnout.

If money was no object where would you head to on a weekend city break? And who would you bring with you?

I’d take my boyfriend Mike who is the BEST on a holiday, he always learns lots about wherever we are going and researches what the best things to do are. He is great, I’d be lost without him. I’m mad to go to Tokyo but you wouldn’t really go there for a weekend would you? Maybe Dubrovnik, that would be idyllic.

Closer to home, is there some place you like to head to recharge the batteries? 

I’m looking forward to returning to Bere Island in autumn and I’m mad about Lough Hyne. Once I reach the water I can feel myself letting go of all the things I’m stressed about. When we first started dating, Mike and I would travel around Cork almost every weekend, Baltimore, Ballydehob, etc, it's just incredible how much there is to do and see. 

Closer to the city then, I love the Lough and the Lee Fields. When I worked in Graffiti Theatre in Blackpool, I enjoyed hanging out in The Garden Café, there’s a few hens and a pig there, as well as the most lush flowers and plants. It's a welcome reprieve from the noise of the city.

Do you like to catch up with family/friends at the weekend?

Yes, I often go back to Waterford to annoy my parents and younger brother, Michael. My older brother Paul is in Cork, so we sometimes go to SOMA by Cork City library for coffee and chats. 

The person I’m with the most on the weekends is my boyfriend, Mike. We love to go on long drives or walks, to read or meet our friends. We also like to go to gigs or readings, though perhaps Mike would be at fewer poetry events if it weren’t for me dragging him to them.

Do you get to indulge any hobbies? Even as a spectator?

I’ve been bouldering in Awesome Walls lately with a crew who are fun and kind that I’m very fond of. I’ve spent most of my life using exercise to punish myself but bouldering is more similar to play, it brings me back to a childlike place where the goal is to explore and celebrate what my body can do.

Entertain or be entertained? If it's the latter do you have a signature dish?

Well, I’m a renter so I don’t often feel like it's very sound to have people over on of housemates needing rest and cooking space etc, even though they’re lovely and I know they wouldn't mind. So Mike and I have maybe entertained once or twice and he did all the cooking. He’s a great chef. I feel like that's an unspoken effect of the housing crisis right? Maybe others don’t feel that as much. And of course, I love to be entertained. When my friends Stephanie and Dave got married, a bunch of us went to Kinsale for Hot Pot and I loved it so much!

We have so many places to eat out in Cork - where are your go to spots for coffee/ lunch/ special meal?

I love Miyazaki, the food is so good there, so delicious and wholesome. I always get Oyako don which is chicken simmered with soft egg in a traditional dashi broth with rice. For a special occasion, The Glass Curtain is incredible, you really can’t go wrong there, they do the best focaccia, the best bread I have ever had! Then for coffee, Filter is great, they do the most amazing coffee and the staff is lovely.

Sunday night comes around too fast.. how do you normally spend it?

I’ll probably read until I doze off. Poetry-wise, I’m currently reading Kevin Graham’s debut poetry collection, The Lookout Post, as well as Suji Kwock Kim’s Notes from the North and Vanishing Point by Kimberly Reyes.

Non-fiction-wise, I recently finished The Grass Ceiling by Eimear Ryan and loved it. I’m currently reading Ordinary Women in Extraordinary Times: Eleven Cork Women in the Revolutionary Years 1916-1923 by Shandon Area History Group and How the Irish Became White by Noel Ignatiev.

What time does your alarm clock go off on Monday morning?

My alarm doesn’t go off, I wake at about 7.30, sometimes earlier. There was a time when my alarm was always set for 6 am, I’m glad that’s not currently the case. I’m enjoying going a little easier on myself.

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL

Now an annual highlight in the Irish literary calendar, the West Cork Literary Festival is a week-long celebration of writing and reading for people of all ages. From its humble beginnings as a series of casual poetry readings and fringe events around the Chamber Music Festival, it has expanded into a varied and extensive programme of readings, talks and week-long workshops, growing more adventurous and imaginative with each year.

www.westcorkliteraryfestival.ie