Pat Ingoldsby
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Pat Ingoldsby is an Irish poet. He has hosted children's TV shows, written plays for the stage and for radio, published books of short stories, and been a newspaper columnist. Since the mid-nineties, he has withdrawn from the mass media, and is most widely known for his books of poems, and his selling of them on the streets of Dublin. The poems in his books vary starkly between humorous and sad.
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Pat's work
In the 80's, Pat hosted children's TV shows named Pat's Hat, and Pat's Chat, and he appeared regularly on Bosco as a story reader.
In the early nineties, he had a column in the Evening Press (a now-gone newspaper of Ireland). These stories were later published as The Peculiar Sensation Of Being Irish.
Pat is a fluent Irish speaker and includes a few poems written in Irish in each book of poetry.
He lives in Clontarf, in Dublin, Ireland. Since sometime in the mid-nineties (?), he has withdrawn from TV, Radio, and play writing. Writing poems has replaced these outlets. Pat is still part of Ireland's Arts scene, sometimes opening Art exhibitions [1] (http://www.art.ie/viewevent1.asp?ID=22778), introducing then-new musicians such as David Gray [2] (http://homepage.tinet.ie/~drunken/interview1.html), or launching other peoples books [3] (http://www.malahidecameraclub.com/club_reviews99_00.html).
He publishes his own books through Willow Publications, which he set up and named after a late cat.
His books since 1998 have carried a note that they are protected by the "Bratislava Accord 1993, section 2 cre/009 manifest-minsk", the terms of which allegedly protect his book's content from being included in:
- school textbooks
- examinations
- elocution classes
- anything with the word "Arts" in it.
Pat's influences
Most of Pat's poems are about his personal experiences, observations of life in Dublin, or mildly surreal humorous possibilities.
Topics of personal experiences vary from the death of his father, or the electroshock therapy he received (circa 1988), to his appreciation of the natural world or his pets.
Observations of Dublin are mostly humorous conversations overheard on the bus, or the characters he sees and talks to while selling his books. Some observations are not so cheerful as he also sees the drunks and the homeless of Dublin city, and the some aspects of modernisation which he isn't pleased with.
His most distinctive style of poetry is his humorist style. A recurring character, Wesley Quench, appears in roles such as the driver of a Flying See-Saw Brigade. Another poem, Vagina in the Vatican, depicts a vagina sneaking into the Vatican unstopped because no one knew what it was - except for a few who couldn't let slip that they did.
He also occasionally produces stories for children. These are a childish version of his mildly surreal style.
During the rapid increase in the use of mobile telephones, he offered a "Mobile Phone Euthanasia" services on the streets of Dublin, where he would destroy phones for annoyed owners.
His sister Maeve Ingoldsby is a playwright.
His books of poems
- You've just finished reading the title
- Rhyme doesn't with Reason
- Up The Leg Of Your Jacket
- Welcome to my head (Please Remove Your Boots) (1986)
- Salty Water (1988)
- Scandal Sisters (1990)
- How was it for you Doctor? (1994)
- Poems so fresh and so new ...Yahoo! (1995)
- If you don't tell anybody I won't (1996)
- See Liz She Spins (1997)
- Half a Hug (1998)
- Beautfiul cracked eyes (1999)
- The Blue Etee Wet (2000)
- Do Lámh I Mo Brístí (2001)
- The Frenchwoman And The Sky (2003)
His other works
For adults
- Hisself (Play, Peacock Theatre, Dublin)
- When am I Gettin' Me Clothes (Play, Peacock Theatre, Dublin) (Later adapted for radio play on RTÉ Radio 1)
- Note: another of his plays ran in the Gaiety too, not sure which one though
- The Dark Days of Denny Lacey (radio play, RTÉ Radio 1)
- She Came Up From the Sea (radio play, RTÉ Radio 1)
- Fire Is Far Enough (radio play, RTÉ Radio 1)
- Liffey Ever Is (radio play, RTÉ Radio 1)
- The Peculiar Sensation Of Being Irish (short stories) (1995) ISBN 1-873548-31-1
- Laugh Without Prejudice (short stories) (1996) ISBN 1873548370
- In My Own Voice (Audio CD of Pat reading some poems)
For children
- Zaney Tales (short stories book)
- Rhymin' Simon (Play)
- Yeukface the Yeuk and the Spotty Grousler (Play)
- Tell Me A Story Pat (Audio Tape)
External links
- Pat's Bit Of Cyberspace (http://www.patingoldsby.com) - An official homepage, run by a friend of Pat, for Pat
- Willow Publications (http://www.patingoldsby.casey-ellis.com/willowpub.html) - most positions are held by cats
- Irish playwright credits (http://irishplayography.com/search/person.asp?PersonID=4521)
- No More (or "Don't kill anyone for me") (http://www.spiritofmaat.com/archive/feb1/nomore.htm), a poem from How was it for you Doctor?, about the trouble in Northern Ireland
Weak links
Since Pat withdrew from the media spotlight before the blossoming of the Internet, it can be hard to find information about him and his work. The following links contains small bits of information. Sometimes that's as good as it gets.
- A page mentioning Pat's father (http://www.geocities.com/stassam.geo/raheny2.html)
- A page which mentions a 1983 films about Pat "Between Stations" (http://www.screenproducersireland.com/companies/graph.html)