THIS spring saw literary green shoots appearing in Skibbereen Community School (SCS) where students contributed poems and short stories to their new literary magazine, The Field of Stones.
The works appearing in this year’s edition were selected from entries to the Field of Stones writing competition, which was held at the end of last year.
The magazine’s prominent feature is a short story from the overall competition winner, 6th year student Fiona Geary.
She praised the concept, saying that the magazine was ‘a fantastic idea’.
‘It encourages us to get involved in creative writing, both poetry and prose. I was delighted to win, and I hope this competition will continue to go from strength to strength in the future.’
The first issue carries work from students across the entire school, and explores themes such as the changing seasons, soap operas, death, and the discipline of the athlete.
Skibbereen Community School is located in the townland of Gortnaclohy which translates as, ‘The Field of Stones’.
The magazine aims to capture and celebrate the stories and poems which come alive in this place.
The artwork for the magazine’s front cover was created by 6th year student Kayla Holmes, and The Field of Stones competition is now open to all of the school’s students for entries that will appear in next year’s edition.
The Field of Stones competition and magazine were the brainchild of English teacher Stephen Good, who was keen to create a forum for students to showcase their creative talents and to act as a catalyst for those who might not even be aware that their thoughts and feelings could be channelled into stories and poems.
The resulting entries were edited by Mr Good, assisted by Terri Leiber and student editors Alicja Sparazynska and Louise Geary.
The magazine can now be accessed in digital form on the school website or in limited hard copy form, where it was bound by local design and printers ‘Inspire’, directly from the school.
