Trudging through the rain, a flock of about 40 students and faculty crammed their way into the Thompson Commons in Bartlett Hall on Monday to listen to two of Ireland’s contemporary poets, Joan McBreen and Noel Monahan, as they showcased their most recent works of art through poetry.

The event was organized by the Department of Languages and Literatures to showcase the backbone of Ireland’s culture through music and poetry. 

It was McBreen’s second trip to UNI to show off her work. 

“I feel right at home with the beautiful Irish weather,” McBreen joked as rain pounded against the windows.

Through the power of words, she encompassed many details of Ireland such as how the different seasons look and feel, descriptions of flowers and trees, poems to memorialize friends who passed away and her trips around the world.

McBreen also played several tracks from her CD, adding to the depth of Irish culture the students and faculty experienced, ranging from traditional Celtic music to a light bouncy Irish waltz. 

Through her segment, she stressed poetry “meanings are not listed in the words,” 

The poems may talk about one thing but the intent could be another subject entirely.

Monahan deepened the audience members’ vision of Ireland with poems about his personal experiences, the cultural changes through the Irish Revolution, history, environmental descriptors, a poem that took him 15 years to write and concluded with a poem written in Gaelic that retells an Irish folktale about a man who turns into a bird.

“A poem is a message in a bottle that may or may not be picked up,” Monahan said.

Following the poetry reading, a brief question and answer session took place. 

“I thought it was great,” said Elizabeth Collins, graduate student of English studies, “I really like the Irish culture so I appreciated the Irish poetry.”