Maria McManus.
Maria was born in Enniskillen and lives in Belfast. Her poetry collections are Reading the Dog, We Are Bone, and Available Light, pamphlets, The Cello Suites and Ellipses.
Collaborations include Wretches, Ellipses, and Tierra Salida (libretti), BIND, Epilogue, TURF, and Roots (poetry/dance) and Medusa’s Notebook (immersive digital poetry). She founded Quotidian with Poetry Jukebox. She serves on the boards of Irish PEN and Poetry Ireland.
Medusa’s Notebook
Content Warning:
This work reimagines the voice of Medusa and contains references to rape and sexual violence.
Location: Queen Victoria Fountain, Queens Road.
This is a very busy junction with moving vehicles. Please be mindful of your surroundings at all times.
For 100 years, Medusa has cast her unflinching gaze from the Art Deco Bank on Belfast’s Royal Avenue.
Medusa’s Notebook is a digital, immersive, storytelling experience presented in the voice of Medusa. Illuminating the tumultuous relationships of Medusa, Perseus, and Pegasus, Medusa’s Notebook explores notions of transformation, female agency, and the reclamation of narrative.
Drawing upon the mythological figure of Medusa, McManus reimagines her not as a monster, but as a symbol of empowerment and resistance against patriarchal structures. The collection explores the complexities of identity, the power of the female voice, and the process of healing from trauma.
BAFTA nominee Roisin Gallagher is the voice of Medusa, scripted as a vivid narrative poem written by the acclaimed Belfast-based poet Maria McManus. The soundscape is designed by NI Music Album of the Year Award winner ARBORIST (Mark McCambridge).
Credits / Collaborators:
Writer & Producer: Maria McManus | Quotidian - Word on the Street NI
Voice of Medusa: Róisín Gallagher
Composer: Mark McCambridge (Arborist)