Nobel Prize winning poet Seamus Heaney has died at the age of 74. Heaney was the most significant Irish poet of his generation and described by fellow poet Robert Lowell as the most important Irish poet since Yeats. He was born on a farm near Toomebridge in Co Derry in April 1939.

Get your poetic juices flowing with some Poetry Masterclass workshops with Poet Stephen Murray. Stephen has a unique way of teaching poetry that is not to be missed. It is great to see that there are many poetry work shops sprouting up in most towns and cities with a huge demand by wannabe and established writers, packing out classes and enjoying the creativity and editing of their poems or short stories. I am lucky to live in a town (Galway) that has an appetite for good literature and poetry, a thriving writing and listening community and some of the best creative writing classes in Ireland.

ROPES is an annual literary journal published by the students of the MA in Literature and Publishing at NUIG. All proceeds of ROPES 2013 are going to Jigsaw in Galway; a charity that provides free and confidential support service for 15-25 year olds living in Galway city and county.